Manu Tuilagi backed by Eddie Jones to bring a new dimension to England’s attack

Eddie Jones has backed powerhouse centre Manu Tuilagi to give England’s attack a new dimension against Wales.

Tuilagi will make his first Six Nations start for two years at Twickenham, adding a physical edge to the team alongside returning skipper Courtney Lawes.

England will launch a new-look backline for the round-three Test, with Tuilagi forming a box-office midfield combination with Marcus Smith and Henry Slade.

Manu Tuilagi returns to the England XV for the first time since getting injured in November

‘Manu gives us a different way to attack in the backs,’ said Jones. ‘He’s a gain-line accumulator. He wins the gain-line consistently, draws defenders in which creates space for other options.

‘He does that better than anyone else in the world when he’s at full tilt. We’re planning for him to be at full tilt on Saturday.

‘You got Marcus who has sleight of hand, quick feet, the ability to beat people one on one in space. You have Sladey who has an educated left foot, a good passer of the ball, and also the ability to make breaks. To complement that you have power with Manu. He’s just a little powerhouse isn’t he?

‘And when I say little, he’s by far our biggest back. Which again gives us something a little bit different. When he’s not there we don’t have that big back to play off. It’s handy to have a big back because they dent the line and create space for the little guys to play small ball in that space.’

Tuilagi will team up with Henry Slade and Marcus Smith in an exciting midfield combination

Jones has challenged his backline to launch a high-octane attack, with nippy No 9 Harry Randall selected ahead of Ben Youngs.

‘We want to put some pace in the game early,’ said Jones. ‘We feel like there will be opportunities against Wales early in the game and Harry each week has been in increasingly better form. He’s sharp around the ruck, gives us that instinctiveness with his ability to take quick taps and run quickly. And then we have Ben Youngs to finish the game. These games go to the wire, it’s like a built-in narrative, and imagine having a half-back with 114 caps in the best form of his career coming on to manage that last 20 minutes.’

Jones has backed veteran scrum-half Ben Youngs to make an impact off the bench

The head coach also revealed there was no debate about re-introducing Lawes as skipper, after the flanker faced six weeks out with concussion.

‘Courtney was going to be captain when Owen [Farrell] was unavailable, so it’s a natural change back to the guy who was going to be captain,’ said Jones.

‘He has good skills around the players, when he speaks they listen, he leads by example. We’re really pleased with the job Tom Curry did. He did an outstanding job as a young captain and he’s going to be an outstanding leadership prospect in the future.’