Manu Tuilagi could be back in England squad for Wales clash, predicts Richard Cockerill

Back in action: Tuilagi in Leicester colours
Steve Bardens/Getty Images
James Benge28 February 2016

Manu Tuilagi will link up with the England squad tomorrow before returning to play for Leicester Tigers next weekend, according to the club's director of rugby Richard Cockerill.

Tuilagi, 24, proved his fitness in a troubled season with a fine performance in Leicester's seven-try demolition of Aviva Premiership bottom club London Irish, the 47-20 win in front of a 23,173 crowd lifting them to fourth.

He will play for Leicester in their crucial home game against second-placed Exeter next Sunday after two days with England but Cockerill refused to say whether he was ready to play for England against Wales at Twickenham on March 12.

"We will have to see," he said. "They have all the power so there is no point in having an argument.

"If Eddie (Jones) wants to play him he will play him. That's the agreement, he is in the EPS.

"I'm not stupid enough to have a fight I can't win, but England are playing well so there's no need to pick him."

Cockerill thinks the best position for Tuilagi with England is inside centre.

Tuilagi, who has made just four starts for Leicester after groin and hamstring injuries, played there against London Irish, with South Africa's World Cup winner Jean de Villiers outside him on his home debut.

England vs Ireland - player ratings

1/31

Cockerill said: "Twelve or 13 is irrelevant. For us de Villiers will do certain parts of that job at 12 and 13.

"I think they will pick Manu at 12 as and when. They have got really good options at 13 with Jonathan Joseph and Elliot Daly.

"A really good fit would be Manu at 12 making holes. People will defend Manu and there will space for Joseph or Daly on the outside."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in