Nick Cain’s column: The devil’s in the detail with England’s centres

It is a tale of two England centres, one cast as a sinner, the other a saint. Manu Tuilagi is wearing the tail and horns, and Sam Burgess the halo. However, the reality is that both are in a spot of bother. Tuilagi’s image has been tarnished by his court case and Burgess has a job on his hands to silence the growing number of respected voices questioning whether he merits selection in England’s World Cup squad.
Tuilagi claimed this week that, after taking legal advice, he had pleaded guilty to charges of assault against two women police officers and a Leicester taxi-driver in May, even though he is adamant now he did not assault them.
Tuilagi said, “I always own up to what I have done. I feel with this one like I’ve owned up to what I’ve not done… it looks like I have basically beaten up the two police officers, which is not the case.”
The Leicester and England outside-centre insisted that after he was walking away from the taxi altercation the policewomen, “came up from behind and I felt someone grab my hands, so I just pulled my hands away”. He said that he did not know they were policewomen, and summed up: “You can just touch someone, and that is assault.”
It is clear Tuilagi feels a deep sense of injustice. This dovetails with the view expressed at the time by Leicester chief executive Simon Cohen that if a powerhouse like Tuilagi had intended to inflict physical damage on either the policewomen or the taxidriver he was equipped to do so. The indication, because none of those he assaulted were hurt, is that when he was told he was being arrested he offered no further resistance.
What hurt Tuilagi just as much is what transpired afterwards. He says he had a meeting with the England head coach, Stuart Lancaster, before the case went to court, to tell him not just about the incident, but also about his unavailability for the World Cup after aggravating the groin injury that sidelined him for most of last season.
Tuilagi said he told Lancaster that the severity of the pain he suffered after sprint training meant his World Cup comeback was over. However, the England head coach decided to wait until the result of the court case to announce that, “in the light of his conduct and subsequent conviction”, Tuilagi was not being considered for World Cup selection.
It would have been fairer, and more accurate, if Lancaster had said at the time that Tuilagi was unavailable for the World Cup due to injury. If he had wanted to emphasise his disciplinary code he could have added that, even if Tuilagi had been fit, he would probably not have been considered for the squad due to the assault case.
I’ve always believed that, like his brothers, Tuilagi should be playing for Samoa rather than England. However, that die is cast, and he has done great things for his adopted country, including a huge, barnstorming contribution to England’s victory over New Zealand in 2012. At 24, Tuilagi still has a huge amount of rugby in him, and I hope he returns from his long-term injury leaner and faster. He will certainly be wiser.
Burgess is a couple of years older than Tuilagi, and, so far, despite having to do his Rugby Union learning with the media glare on him constantly, off the pitch ‘Slammin Sam’ has been savvy enough to hardly put a foot wrong.
The Rugby League superstar has refused to bridle at the naysayers who believe he should not have made the England World Cup 31, using the mantra that, “I’m here to learn and enjoy the experience,” as his shield.
Burgess’ international credentials have been supported by Lancaster and his coaches from the moment he arrived at Bath from the South Sydney Rabbitohs last November.
The England coaching endorsement for the cross-code star has increased in volume since he progressed from the World Cup long-squad to the tournament 31. The gist of it is that Burgess is a strong character and natural leader who is an energising force, as well as a true professional who has trained the house down. There is also the suggestion that one England sponsor has taken the long view of Burgess as a promotional asset, with kit manufacturers Canterbury running a full page advert in the England v France match programme last March – when Burgess was in the Saxons squad – of him wearing one of their leisure shirts.
However, despite a solid debut performance at inside-centre against an understrength France in first World Cup warm-up international, and then a less successful late cameo against Ireland, there is a growing body of opinion that his inexperience should have ruled Burgess out of Lancaster’s 31. This is based not only on his lack of exposure at Test level, but also on a distinctly mixed introduction to the new code at Bath last season, where he was employed at both 12 and 13, and then at blindside.
This week Chris Ashton, the Saracens and England cross-code wing cut from the squad after the Denver training, joined Will Carling and Brian O’Driscoll in raising doubts about Burgess’s readiness. “He needs to be in the right places and get his hands on the ball at the right time. That’s not something I’m convinced he’s had enough time to do just yet,” Ashton said.
Simon Shaw, the Lions and England lock, said at a dinner in Hong Kong that he was “perplexed” by Burgess’ inclusion, adding, “most players work three years to get a chance at a World Cup and Burgess has a handful of games for Bath, and one game for England, and suddenly he’s in”. Shaw also commented that Burgess’s lack of experience left him looking “scared” when he came on against Ireland, “like he didn’t know what the hell was going on”.
Peter Winterbottom, the indestructible Lions and England flanker, has also cast doubt on Burgess’ ability to make the transition to Test standard so quickly. Winterbottom said, “He was a great Rugby League player, but whether he becomes a great Rugby Union player remains to be seen. But he isn’t one yet.”
While Tuilagi ‘the sinner’ protests on the sidelines about injustice, Burgess ‘the saint’ is going to have to play some heavenly stuff to convert a regiment of sceptics into believers.