Jeremy Guscott: Manu Tuilagi and Luther Burrell would be a true force of nature

The impact that Manu Tuilagi has had to date in 23 England matches – including scoring 11 tries – gives him a pedigree as a game-changer which is unrivalled not only in the England backline, but in the team as a whole.
The All Blacks now view him as someone you cannot give an opportunity to, just as they did with Jonny Wilkinson because of the accuracy of his goal-kicking in the past.
How do you leave a player with Tuilagi‘s track record and ability out of the team? That is the difficulty that Stuart Lancaster will have to contend with in the foreseeable future. And if it isn’t Manu, then the hardest conversations the England coach will have will be with the other players left out of the midfield line-up.
The problem for Lancaster is that the combination of Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell has worked extremely well this season. He has always said he wanted a kicker and strategist at 12, and Twelvetrees has filled that role.
He is having a big influence within the group, and even if the execution is not always as precise as someone like Will Greenwood in making chances and putting people into gaps, his game intelligence is right up there. Twelvetrees is not the finished article yet, but it’s coming.
Burrell had a big influence playing out of position. He scored tries, and made them too, and overall he adapted impressively and played very well – and it is not right to drop a player in that sort of form.
However, the way Tuilagi came back against Exeter last weekend showed the influence that one player, when they are good enough, can have. He does it consistently. When he is on the ball he is a threat, and when he is in defence he is a danger.
There’s been talk of putting Tuilagi on the wing, but that’s not the best use of him. Although we haven’t yet seen Jonny May and Jack Nowell in an outright sprint because they have cut inside a lot, most of England’s wings would back their pace on the outside. I’m not sure Manu has that, so it’s not clear that he would offer a better solution than them. Nor is he used to the high balls, and spinning out of them.
His ability to make his mark at any given moment in a match is what makes him different. He’s a born try-scorer, and, if it is about what a player can bring in attack then Manu delivers consistently. Unless he moves to inside centre it is not a requirement for him to do too much passing. Inside centre is usually where you make passing decisions based on whether there is space for you, or space for someone outside you.
You cannot underestimate how physical the game has become – and they don’t come much more physical or powerful than Tuilagi. What he has apart from a 6ft 1in, 17 stone 9lbs frame is that he will beat the player opposite him, and that is a huge asset.
He has always been big and powerful and therefore probably has been told to run hard and straight, but I think his passing game will come if a side asks him to do it. The discussion point then becomes how he can develop his game.
There are similarities between Tuilagi and New Zealand‘s Ma’a Nonu, who was good at carrying the ball up and scoring tries, whereas now he is creating tries for others. Offloading out of the tackle was also something that Manu’s brother, Alesana, did very well when he was at Leicester.
Tuilagi is already exceptional with his current skill set, but if he can make those add-ons to develop his range of distribution skills then he will be irresistible.
Twelvetrees and Burrell have settled in very well and are producing the goods, but I have no doubt that if you swapped Burrell for Tuilagi you would get the same. I also believe that if you paired Burrell and Tuilagi together they would be a true force of nature, a really intimidating centre pairing.
I would feel comfortable with that, although Burrell would have to take up more of a decision-making role because Tuilagi is not seen as a big communicator. Even with Leicester you see him listening rather than talking and pointing even though, at 22, he is now one of their more experienced backs.
However, the positives that come from fierce competition for places extends further. Kyle Eastmond is the best distributor in the England backline outside George Ford, of that there is no doubt.
That means that if Owen Farrell was unavailable for some reason, Lancaster has multiple options. Twelvetrees at 10, Eastmond at 12 and Burrell or Tuilagi at 13 is feasible. So is Ford-Burrell-Tuilagi. And that’s without considering the merits of other contenders like Brad Barritt and Henry Trinder.
The skill comes in selection, particularly in judging form and the way combinations come together.
Tuilagi’s next big challenge is against Clermont in Saturday’s Heineken Cup quarter-final trip. It is no accident that with the Anthony Allen-Tuilagi centre combination back together again Leicester went so well against Exeter.
That is good for Leicester, and it makes them much more potent, but whichever side goes to Clermont, after 70 plus home victories in succession, you make Clermont favourites. Most sides go there wanting to win, hoping to win, but rarely do…although with Tuilagi there’s always a chance.