Leicester and England centre Manu Tuilagi was involved in an altercation with a taxi driver and a police officer a few weeks ago. A report on the RFU website says the player admitted to three charges of assault, one of criminal damage, and has been fined as a result.
The upshot is that England coach Stuart Lancaster has said Tuilagi will not be considered for a World Cup slot and will only come into contention again in January 2016.
A run of injuries has meant that Tuilagi has actually played very rarely for England over the last two years. He will not feature again this season for his club, and it was beginning to look like he might not be ready in time for the tournament.
Leicester coach Richard Cockerill said recently that he expected Tuilagi to return but we now know that he was probably aware of the charges hanging over the player and had to choose his words carefully.
Jonathan Joseph of Bath has been the form outside centre in Tuilagi’s absence, and credited with giving England more of a cutting edge. It was by no means certain that Tuilagi would walk back into his old position but it was widely expected that he would make the squad.
Joseph was recently named Player’s Player, as well a England Player of the Year, at the Rugby Players’ Association awards, so Lancaster has good midfield options. However, Tuilagi’s power will certainly be missed, and the coach will have to decide what combinations he wants to take to the World Cup.
Joseph, Brad Barritt, Luther Burrell, Kyle Eastmond and Billy Twelvetrees have played in the centre in recent games. Henry Slade and Elliot Daly have also looked good for their clubs, while Sam Burgess may offer power if Lancaster wants it.
Birdy
Guest
I agree, treating him like a pariah would be counter-productive. However, I hope 'standing by our man' actually means 'meeting him halfway'. By all accounts he's a bit of a 'man-child' rather than a nasty bit of work, but it is long past time to grow up now, and being in the last chance saloon at 23 isn't great.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
You sound like you know what you are talking about, Birdy, so I'll stand corrected. I was pleased to hear Cockerill talk about the need to support their man. He recognizes that the onus will be on Manu to regain trust, but he's aware that treating him like a pariah will be counter-productive.
Birdy
Guest
I know that is normally the case, RF, but Lancaster does like to keep injured players involved, and even players not officially part of the squad (Burgess has spent some time in the England camp, for example). He's a stickler for players knowing and keeping up to date with the systems, so Tuilagi has periodically been 'in camp' even though he's been injured and obviously not doing any drills.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Manu was certainly always part of Lancaster's World Cup plans but he literally hasn't been with England. If you get called up for squad training and pick up an injury along the way, then you might be kept in the camp. If are injured from the off, and not expected to recover, then you stay home. That's what happened with him. Since the 2012-3 season , where he played a full part, Manu has only had one Test at the end of the 2014 Six Nations, and three tour matches last summer. There simply hasn't been time to do any mentoring at the England level in the way Coconut suggested.
Birdy
Guest
He hasn't played, RF, but he has been with the squad. Although, injured, Lancaster has kept him around which strongly suggests he was part of the plans. I think Joseph has cemented himself in the 13 jersey, but there was lots of talk of Tuilagi coming in at 12 in a sort of Nonu role. That was a potentially tasty partnership for England, particularly as Ford is very good at taking the ball to the gain line and bringing runners in on good lines. It raised the possibility of much less predictable English back play (no offence taken Coconut, I agree with you). Ford and Joseph can still make England much less predictable in the backs than they have been come RWC time, but the number 12 jersey is, again, a problem.
Coconut
Guest
Thanks Rugby Fan, I stand corrected, I confess I had not been following him so closely over the past year, and had last seen him in action when England were playing the ABs. I just recall reading that the ABs have a fairly well established mentoring system, where they pair senior players with the younger ones, and ensure the values and ethos of All Back rugby is put at the forefront in these players minds on and off the field. Not to say the ABs don't have their own issues with the younger guys straying off script, but, like Cruden last year, they have a zero tolerance policy for even the well established players. I think they've done a pretty good job of mentoring these young guys and have avoided many of the pitfalls that have dogged other teams - such as the 'three amigos' in the Wallabies etc. I think Tuilagi is a talented player, it is a pity he seems to be having these issues, and he was not under control during the RWC either... which suggested to me that England may not have had such systems in place to help these younger guys. Even their senior guys were in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. I think Lancaster will not repeat those mistakes however, he strikes me as a pretty shrewd operator.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
"I think he should have had support from the senior players and English team management to ensure things didn’t get out of hand in the lead up to the RWC." He has hardly been with the England set-up over the last two years. He hasn't played in an Autumn series since 2012. He then missed most of the 2014 Six Nations, and all of the this year's competition. That's four major rounds of international matches where he hasn't really featured, not even in the training camps. He was part of the squad which toured last year but went down again with injury and hasn't been near England in nearly seven months. You could argue that Leicester should have been keeping a closer eye on him, but they've done so much for the Tuilagi family over the years it's hard to point the finger of accusation at them. Ultimately, it was down to him to keep his head together.
cashead
Roar Rookie
No, it shouldn't. Especially when it's someone with prior form like Tuilagi. If he wants to be a dickhead, then that's his prerogative, but so is Lancaster's apparent decision to impose a "no dickheads" rule when selecting his players.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Details of the incident from the BBC: "Tuilagi, capped 25 times, is understood to have grabbed a taxi driver by the throat and kicked the vehicle's wing mirror before pushing two female police officers in the chest as they attempted to handcuff him."
Coconut
Guest
Actually Harry I think he is a big loss for England. He was the one player that gave the ABs a lot of headaches on defense, as he was a very good impact player and great at busting tackles and taking on the line. He was the one player I thought had a bit of an x-factor, in a line up of perhaps slightly more predictable Englishmen (don't take that the wrong way Birdy/JimmyB). So its good news for opposing teams as they wont now have to contend with him, but a pity we don't get to see him play at the RWC. As to his behaviour, well it would be fair to say he has form in this regard, having made a bit of a fool of himself in Auckland at the last RWC. A pity though, I think... if he didn't have already, I think he should have had support from the senior players and English team management to ensure things didn't get out of hand in the lead up to the RWC.
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
The early reaction from England fans is very supportive of Lancaster. It may also be the last nail in the coffin for Steffon Armitage, since he has an unresolved assault charge hanging over him in France. As it stands, it looks like Lancaster will ignore players from France is his squad selection anyway but an unprecedented injury crisis might have seen him reach out. A criminal charge would take that chance off the table. No-one doubts the impact Tuilagi can have on the field, and his reputation probably grew the more he didn't play. However, England have never been able to identify the ideal partner for him, partly because he has been injured too much to try too many different combinations. With Joseph having a good season at outside centre, there was talk of moving Tuilagi to 12 alongside him. That might have worked but the Leicester man isn't a great distributor. which might have limited our attacking threat elsewhere. In a way, because there was some doubt about Manu's fitness for the Cup, England supporters are probably better prepared to think beyond his selection. No-one would have wanted him to miss out through such a stupid action, but it's not that hard to think of life without Manu in the team. The most likely partner for Joseph would seem to be Barritt, who has been consistent if not scintillating. He was a defensive rock last time England played Australia at Twickenham. Another alternative would be to play the entire Bath midfield of Ford, Eastmond and Joseph, but that might be defensively fragile at a World Cup, for all its attacking promise. Lancaster has often wanted a second playmaker at 12, to help give options when our 10 is under pressure. Billy Twelvetrees has played this role in the past but he is prone to mistakes, and has never made the jersey his own. That might leave the door open for Henry Slade of Extter, a fly half who has been playing centre for his club this season.
RT
Guest
Gotta love a good Simpsons reference on a Saturday morning.
Jibbers
Guest
Someone needs to think of the children. This kind of behaviour can't be condoned
Rugby Tragic
Guest
Agree with Harry and ben's post on this loose cannon. Good on Stuart Lancaster for making this decision early too even though he has midfield issues. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
ben
Guest
If you remember he acted like a trained seal at the 2011 world cup too...being a clown on the ferry. Hes got form. When will these guys realise being a pro sportsman is the best job you can have...or throw it away being a clown and go get a 9_5.
Harry Jones
Expert
Not a huge loss. And this is the right decision. Anti-social acts of this kind and degree bring the game into dispute. RFU cannot afford replay of 2011.