Eddie Jones’s early days as the England coach may have been characterised by the reining in of expectations but he is prepared to forgo such modesty when it comes to George Ford and Manu Tuilagi. He believes they can be as good as Dan Carter and Ma’a Nonu.
“George has got the potential to be a really great Test stand-off,” he said. “His range of skills is first class. Now, it’s going to take time to get there. He’s only 22, but with time in the saddle he’ll be like Dan Carter was at 30.”
Nevertheless, that equation will be complicated if and when Tuilagi returns to the fold. Jones is adamant Tuilagi, like Henry Slade, is a No12, which means Owen Farrell, England’s best goal-kicker, would need to be accommodated elsewhere, Ford’s position of fly-half being one obvious berth.
“Tuilagi’s got the skill set of a 12. He can potentially be a Ma’a Nonu. There’s no doubt about that. He’s not world class yet, but he has the potential to be,” Jones said.
The No12 shirt has long been a problem for England. Farrell is filling in, while we wait for Tuilagi and Slade, but neither of those has played there much for his club.
That appears to be changing with Leicester and Tuilagi. In his previous 73 competitive matches for the Tigers before the recent injury, he has worn the No12 shirt three times.
On Friday night during a 25-19 defeat at Harlequins, Jones watched Tuilagi wear the shirt again, the third time he has played inside-centre in the four matches since his return from a long-standing groin injury in January.
Jones has not quite ruled him out of the rest of the Six Nations. “I’ll speak to Cockers [Richard Cockerill] and work it out from there.”
