Manu Tuilagi is England's key asset for Japan World Cup, says Jason Robinson

Jason Robinson believes Manu Tuilagi will channel years of injury frustration to become England’s game-changing star during the World Cup.

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Tuilagi scored twice in the 35-3 win over Tonga, making 93m for England in 11 ball carries.

Robinson, who scored England’s try in their victory over Australia in the 2003 final, worked with the England squad before they flew out to Japan and says Tuilagi was the stand-out performer.

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“I’m so excited about Manu,” says Robinson, who is now an ambassador for Rugby World Cup sponsor Mastercard. “He’s had his injuries, he’s been off for a long, long time, but having watched him in training, he’s just so strong."

Leicester centre Tuilagi has had a string of lower-body injury issues stretching back to 2014, A groin problem sidelined him in 2017, and it wasn't until February that he made his first England start since 2014.

Following Sunday’s four-try win over Tonga, England head coach Eddie Jones declared that Tuilagi was “increasingly getting close to his best”, and Robinson believes the 28-year-old is using the misery of years of on-off injury as a source of motivation.

“Physically, pound for pound, Manu’s one of the strongest out there at the World Cup. And he’s got a spring in his step.”

Eddie Jones should take a closer look at Billy Twelvetrees, says Johan Ackermann

Danny Cipriani may be stealing the headlines at Gloucester, but it is the main outside him who is the “unsung hero” of the Cherry and Whites’ strong start to the campaign.

Billy Twelvetrees has been Gloucester’s lynch-pin in the Premiership so far, according to boss Johan Ackermann.

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Now Gloucester head coach Ackermann is urging England supremo Eddie Jones to take a closer look at Twelvetrees ahead of the World Cup.

Twelvetrees has been slotting his kicks so far this term, as well as being the level-headed foil to Cipriani’s audacious plays.

Twelvetrees, who picked up the last of his 22 caps in 2015, impressed again on Friday in Gloucester’s five-try to win over Bristol, with Jones looking on.

Under-recognised?

“Billy is the side’s unsung hero at the moment,” Ackermann told me. “He is consistently one of our senior guys who works extremely hard during the week.

“He is very calm, shows good leadership and is extremely fit. His work-rate is tremendous on the field and I don’t always think he gets that recognition.

“He organises a lot in defence and works a lot off the ball. He is really working well with Danny on his inside and he’s really doing well for us at this stage.

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“He’s always so professional. He’s always one of the guys who really looks after himself and always one of the last to walk out of the club. It’s very good to have him in our system.”

England boss Jones opted for Owen Farrell, Henry Slade, Piers Francis and Alex Lozowski as his potential inside centres in his August pre-season camp, but Ackermann ardently believes Twelvetrees is worth another look.

Decoy

Twelvetrees, 29, is filling in at the first-receiver role at times for Gloucester, with Cipriani on occasion being used as a decoy.

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“It’s a difficult one. Obviously, I’ll always lean towards the guys that I coach and I do believe Billy’s got the talent and the ability,” says Ackermann.

“But as I’ve said with other players, Eddie has worked with a squad now for two or three years and he’s going to believe in certain guys. For there to be change, only Eddie can do it.

“We’re happy with the way Billy has performed and developed his game in the last year and hopefully it will keep on going.”

Jonny May: I've half an eye on Autumn International return for England

England flyer Jonny May is eyeing an international recall for the Autumn Internationals as he targets a speedy return from a serious knee injury.

After rupturing knee ligaments in December, Gloucester wing May was forced to play the role of frustrated bystander as England completed a Six Nations Grand Slam and whitewashed the Wallabies in Australia.

But now May has his sights set on a potential return against South Africa at Twickenham on November 12.

“Why not go for it?” he tells me. “But if the knee’s not right, I’ll be patient and sensible about it.

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“I’ve got plenty of time. I’m only 26.  I want to get a healthy knee and I’m confident my best days are ahead of me.”

May, who has 19 caps, was injured just a month after Eddie Jones arrived as new England boss, but a steady flow of messages from Jones has buoyed May’s confidence, as did his inclusion in Jones’s 45-man provisional squad for the Autumn Internationals.

“I got injured as soon as Eddie came in but he texted me as soon as he found out I’d got injured and has texted me every now and again to check up on me,” said May, whose club, Gloucester, are yet to record a win this season having lost against Leicester and drawn at Worcester.

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“I wasn’t expecting that but I was really pleased he did because it gave me a bit of motivation and showed I was still in his thoughts."

“I’m aware I’ve a long way to go and I’ve a lot to get right but I hope that I’ve still got some of my best days ahead of me. I definitely want to play for England again.”

May, who faces a battle with Exeter Chiefs’ Jack Nowell, Harlequins’ Marland Yarde and Bath’s Semesa Rokoduguni for the England wing berths, is scheduled to return to full fitness in the first week of October.

* This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in The Rugby Paper. For detailed coverage of rugby in the UK at every level, see The Rugby Paper every Sunday.