Twelvetrees poised to replace injured Tuilagi

London: Stuart Lancaster, the England head coach, would have no qualms about blooding Gloucester’s exciting young centre Billy Twelvetrees in Saturday’s RBS Six Nations Championship match at Twickenham after losing Manu Tuilagi to an ankle injury.

Lancaster is confident that Tuilagi will be available against Ireland on Sunday week, especially with England enjoying an eight-day turnaround for the game at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, but in the meantime he must do without the one-man wrecking ball who was so destructive in the thrilling victory against the All Blacks last month.

His options for the Calcutta Cup are threefold. Lancaster could do a straight trade at outside centre and bring in Jonathan Joseph. The London Irishman came on for Tuilagi for the last quarter of an hour against New Zealand and also played two Tests in the summer in South Africa.

However, his form has been moderate of late and he has played wing and full-back in recent weeks. Lancaster could shuffle his back line to the sort of set-up that served England well in his first two games in charge last season when Saracens’ Charlie Hodgson played at fly-half with his club colleagues, Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt in the centre. Hodgson has retired from international rugby, but Toby Flood could easily step into that slot with the Saracens duo reunited in midfield.

The third possibility is the most intriguing in that Lancaster could throw the uncapped Twelvetrees into the fray. The 24 year-old fits the bill in terms of physicality and he also has a booming boot that would suit England’s kicking strategy. His distribution, too, holds up well. The fact that he has not played at Test level is no impediment.

“We had seven new caps at Murrayfield last year,” Lancaster said. “I don’t think it’s too early for Billy to come in. I don’t see a lack of international experience as a barrier to international selection. It’s all about what is best for the team and what gives us the best chance of winning. The team has to have time to run together and gel. We’ve got options.

“Of course Manu is a big loss. He was outstanding against New Zealand in particular. He can do straight-line running but wouldn’t be able to do multi-directional stuff until Friday. We have to make sure he is right. There is no point picking him only for him to break down or there be a recurrence. We’re just being careful.”

Lancaster dismissed the notion that Tuilagi’s absence would weaken their ability to deal with the muscular Scotland back line, noting that he had missed the first two games of last season’s championship, including the opening-day victory at Murrayfield. Lancaster also shrugged off the suggestion that England would beef up their midfield in anticipation of what was coming their way.

“You’re aware of the strengths and threats of your opponent but you don’t want to pick big just because they pick big, to be reactive rather than proactive,” Lancaster said. He had hoped that Tuilagi might pass muster on the ankle strain he picked up a fortnight ago against the Ospreys but he realised on Sunday night that the 21 year-old would not be able to train properly until too late in the week.

“Scotland are not a small side and we’ve got to match them in that area,” he said.

“Manu’s absence does change the emphasis of our game, but only a little bit. You’re still talking about being able to win the gain line and of having physical defenders. You want some footballers across the back line but fundamentally you’ve got to get across the gain line and got to be able to defend. You pick the best team to win the game for you, not a team just to avoid losing.”

Lancaster was delighted that full-back Alex Goode came through his first outing in seven weeks on Sunday for Saracens after recovering from a shoulder injury. He is set to continue in the No 15 shirt with Harlequins full-back Mike Brown on the left wing, as in the All Black match. The news on London Irish prop Alex Corbisiero was less upbeat — his knee injury will rule him out of the championship. He has had a clean-out procedure and has been told to rest completely for a fortnight.

Gloucester fly-half Freddie Burns, who will be available for the second half of the championship, will join up with the squad next week after doing rehab work on his knee at his club.

For all the difficulties, Lancaster said the squad were in good heart. “There is a hugely different feel to last year and everyone is excited to be back,” he said.

“It’s a place people want to be but there’s not one player there feeling comfortable about having their place nailed on. I’ve never been afraid to make changes.” England were due to release 10 players back to their clubs on Tuesday evening.