2. Fighting Fiji with Fire: Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence’s Centre Partnership
Steve Borthwick opted for a relatively untested midfield partnership of Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence, in a game plan that seemed to utilise brute force against the Fijian centre channels. Despite Lawrence being hailed as the successor to Tuilagi’s shirt following impressive performances in the 2023 Six Nations, the duo shared the pitch with gain-line breaks being the order of the day.
The pair set off with heavy carries from the get go, with Lawrence making a great run into the back-field after catching George Ford’s miss-pass after six minutes. Tuilagi’s second carry saw him turned over by the fired-up Fijians, yet the Sale Shark avoided embarrassment with the referee calling play back for England’s penalty.
As well as hitting hard on the carry, the pair worked relentlessly in defence, as Fiji threw all they had at the centres. Tuilagi caught a stinger on his shoulder, after a collision rumbled through Twickenham as loud as the thunder which followed the strikes of lightning in the sky. Tuilagi shrugged off the knock, to the relief of every England fan in attendance. Tuilagi was also let off for a missed tackle, which saw Fijian winger Selestino Ravutaumada skip away on a nice break.
Ravutaumada then shipped the ball to Waisea Nayacalevu, with the Fijian captain going over to score. However, Tuilagi was again spared the error, with the try disallowed following a review for Ravutaumada’s forward pass. However, once Fiji began to pull away with a 20-8 lead, Borthwick shuffled up his centres with the addition of Joe Marchant for Ollie Lawrence.
The Stade Francais man had an immediate impact, as he upped the attacking tempo, and capped off his performance with a try to narrow the deficit. Tuilagi battled to the end, in a physical match that was suited to his strengths. Tuilagi performed better than Lawrence today, and was able to ride the collisions with the hard-hitting Fijians better than the Bath man. This centre partnership may now be put down to trial and error, with a significant shift taking place when Joe Marchant’s arrived at Twickenham.
3. Borthwick’s Returnee’s: Can Alex Mitchell and Jonny May Make Monday’s World Cup Squad?
The risk which comes with the Summer Nations Series so close to the Rugby World Cup, is that unfortunate injuries can throw a gameplan out the window. Steve Borthwick has been forced to adapt, and re-called Gloucester winger Jonny May and Northampton Saints scrum half Alex Mitchell to the fold, following untimely injuries to Anthony Watson, Elliot Daly, and Jack van Poortvliet.
May marked his comeback with a hot start, as he crossed over to score England’s first try of the match after just nine minutes of play. The Cherry and Whites star backed himself on his fabled left wing, and utilised his pace to run in after collecting a missed pass out wide. However, May’s performance faltered in the second half. The winger was amongst the England defenders who missed their tackle attempts, as Ravutaumada and Nayacalevu side-stepped through England’s crumbling defence.
Borthwick is hopeful for Daly’s return for the clash with Argentina, however Watson’s current injury status for the Rugby World Cup sees May as a contender for the trip to France. A similar thing could be said for Alex Mitchell, who by no means had a star-making performance. Yet with van Portvliet side-lined, the Saints man is back in the squad and got his first taste of action today. After being left out of the trip to Dublin, Mitchell led from the off for England’s bruising encounter against Fiji. Given the nod for the nine jersey, Mitchell was picked over Danny Care, with the veteran Quin on the bench.
Mitchell did not have an immediate impact, and remained off the main stage whilst the thunderous collisions took the spotlight at Twickenham. He was fast to the break down, and despite taking a few heavy hits himself, was able to work through to supply George Ford with quick-ball. In a match that had few positive takeaways from an England perspective, Mitchell performed as well as his teammates, and did not look out of place.