Centre Stage

With only two warm-up matches to go before England jet off down under, it’s safe to say that ‘Johno’ will already know 95% of his final squad. An injury scare to Lewis Moody may lead to a small re-shuffle of the back-row options, but all in all, there are only a handful of places up for grabs; most notably in the back-row and the back three.

In the midfield, it looks like England will take all four of the initially selected centres. However, they may opt to omit one, with Armitage or Banahan able to offer another option in the middle. But what combination will the World Champions of 2003 go for? Tournament talk takes a look at the possibilities.

Hape & Tindall

The partnership used in England’s successful Six Nations campaign. Hape and Tindall give England solidity in midfield. They may lack in creativity as a pairing, but offer a solid defensive game as well as strong and direct ball carrying.

Flutey & Tindall

Ricky Flutey’s early form in Test rugby was fantastic and earned the New Zealand born centre a Lions call-up. His ability to act as a second distributor as well as a hard running inside centre probably put him ahead of Hape in the pecking order. Flutey and Tindall complement each other nicely and I think ‘Johno’ will opt for this combination when England face Argentina on September 10^th.

Tindall & Tuilagi

In Manu Tuilagi, England have found something very different; his South-Sea flair and style in attack and aggression in defence were on show for all to see against Wales. Despite a few defensive frailties, first exposed by O’Driscoll in the Heineken Cup, Tuilagi brings an X-factor to England’s back-line. A pairing of Tindall and Tuilagi would be strong and powerful but in all reality, Tuilagi may have to settle for a place on the bench and a role as an ‘impact player.’

Mike Tindall is almost certain to start the tournament and, with question marks over the fitness of Lewis Moody, the Gloucester man may be asked to captain the side. Delon Armitage and Matt Banahan can also play their part in the centre but barring an injury crisis, won’t be required to start a game there.

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Photographs from RFU.com.