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Will England beat Australia with Manu Tuilagi playing on the wing? Absolutely they will. I wasn’t impressed with Australia last week and England are well capable of comfortably dealing with this Wallaby team.
But will England win the World Cup, Grand Slam or trouble the All Blacks with Tuilagi on the wing? I’m not so sure about that. He is back to full fitness and in great shape but he is not a wing. If I was Australia I would remorselessly target him, something they would never do if he was playing in his usual role at inside centre.
I would test him with high balls, grubbers and try to turn him. I would even try running directly at him because although Tuilagi is a great tackler, it is a very different technique out on the wing than in midfield.
Manu Tuilagi (centre) has been picked to play on the wing for England against Australia
Switching him to the wing at this stage of his career is a big ask. It didn’t work seven years ago and there is no reason to see why it would be an outstanding success this time round. It comes with considerable risk.
It is all a bit confusing and to be selecting players, even those as talented as Tuilagi, out of position is not the way to build a World Cup-winning team.
On one hand, I applaud handing a first start to Marcus Smith against a Tier One team and I am full of hope and excitement as to what he could bring. We have seen how he can light up any team
