You might say Marcus Smith is more blessed with the hands of god but when I think about Manu Tuilagi and how he is so often billed as England’s saviour I cannot help but think of someone like Diego Maradona. Manu-dona if you will. Maybe it’s a nickname that works better for Maro Itoje but there is no one else in the England setup for whom there is almost a messianic vision whenever he is fit to play.
I was reflecting after the autumn how we had seen Smith, Tuilagi and Henry Slade start together for less than 10 minutes and now they haven’t even made it to the start line. First and foremost it’s a monumental disappointment for Tuilagi himself, having fought back from injury, but he has been here before and he will get himself in the right frame of mind to come back later in the tournament.
