The No 13 position is among the most complex and demanding in the union game, which is why its masters – Brian O’Driscoll, Jeremy Guscott, Tana Umaga, Philippe Sella and Danie Gerber – have guaranteed places in the rugby pantheon.
If Jonathan Joseph, the one natural outside centre in the England squad, fails to recover from injury in time for this Saturday’s long-awaited meeting with Wales (who have lost their own specialist, the Lions Test player Jonathan Davies, to mangled knee ligaments), the whole balance of the tournament hosts’ back line will be affected.
Here we examine the midfield personnel available to the head coach Stuart Lancaster if Joseph is missing:
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
The defensive linchpin of the side, Barritt has international experience at No 13, having played in the red-rose midfield alongside such specialist No 12s as Billy Twelvetrees and Kyle Eastmond. The South African-born midfielder is strong in contact – an important consideration, given that the position is top of the “high risk” list when it comes to turnovers – and can organise the manning of the barricades every bit as effectively from the outside position as the inside one. He is not, however, the quickest thing on two legs, and has nothing of Joseph’s footwork. The England attack would be a more predictable animal with him in that position. England 35 Fiji 11 player ratings
Sam Burgess (Bath)
It could be argued that the cross-coder has also played the No 13 role, given that on his one Test start to date (at inside centre in the first of the two World Cup warm-up matches with France), he moved out one position every time England had a scrum put-in or a line-out throw. Like Barritt, the “Slammer” does not have any footwork of which to speak: there again, who needs dancing shoes when you play a hobnail-boot brand of rugby? If and when England start him in a World Cup match – a serious risk, given his lack of experience – it will surely be at No 12.
Sam Burgess fends off Tuapati Talemaitoga
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Two things prevent the fire-and-ice merchant from being a top-class centre: a lack of express pace and a lack of desire to perform the role. Farrell considers himself an outside-half and wants everyone else to see him the same way. Which is not to suggest he would rather not bother: Farrell played 12 against Samoa last November (without conspicuous success) and has long been aware that the England coaches might press him into service there again. He is most unlikely to let his country down, irrespective of the digits on his back, but his focus is on the No 10 shirt currently being worn by George Ford.
Owen Farrell
Henry Slade (Exeter)
Leaving aside Joseph, the young West Countryman is the only midfielder in the 31-man squad who regularly plays 13. He is not an outside centre by either breeding or instinct, but his gifts are such that he can play out of position and make a fist of it. Slade’s international debut, against France last month, was at 13, although he spent most of his quality time at 12. The result? A big hand in three tries, none of which would have been scored in his absence. It sounds like a good reason for picking him, but we do not know for sure if the England hierarchy really trust him.
