Tuilagi is so vital, Eddie must find another one!

THE debate over whether the 10-12 combination of George Ford and Owen Farrell is the best trigger for England to develop their attack, in pursuit of becoming the world’s best team, is one that has carried over from the World Cup into today’s England-Ireland match at Twickenham.

It is an encounter which could be decisive in the final outcome of the 2020 Six Nations, as well as deciding whether the Ford-Farrell experiment continues.

My feeling has always been that you do not necessarily need a second distributor at inside-centre, and when Farrell has been selected in his best position at fly-half, picking Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade as a centre combination outside him has proved the point very effectively.

Tuilagi does not distribute as well as Ford, Farrell, or Slade, but he brings an attention-grabbing intensity, because a 6ft, 17 stone missile moving pretty quickly straight down the middle of the field is a menace to any defence.

It’s an old-fashioned view, but it’s one which to my eyes has always fitted England best. It also highlights how dependent England have become on Tuilagi, and how quickly injury and form can change an attacking structure.

It also highlights the lack of depth in positions like inside-centre, when you have players like Farrell playing out of position in order to compensate for the absence of a player of Tuilagi’s influence because of three years of injuries.

The reality is that Farrell is not much of a threat at 12 because he is not quick enough, and nor does he have the physical heft of a Tuilagi, or for that matter, Robbie Henshaw, Jonathan Davies, or Malakai Fekitoa, the Wasps former All Black.

The limitations of the Ford-Farrell partnership is emphasised when Ford, who is normally at first receiver, sometimes switches, allowing Farrell to slip into the 10 channel.

This complicates matters, because Ford has what I call ‘passive pace’ when it is back-on-back in the 12 channel. This means he is unlikely to make a clean break, and it makes the job of the opposition defence much easier.