Tuilagi and Lawes fit for All Blacks test

Manu Tuilagi and Courtney Lawes have been named in England’s 25-man squad to face New Zealand on Saturday.

The pair missed last weekend’s 12-11 win over South Africa with groin and back injuries respectively, Tuilagi a late drop-out at Twickenham.

Coach Eddie Jones was hopeful both would be fit to feature against the All Blacks and they have recovered enough to be included in the squad, much to the delight of their team-mates.

“He [Tuilagi] is looking good in training,” scrum-half Ben Youngs told Sky Sports. “I’m sure if he’s given the opportunity that he would be able to certainly give us a lot of go-forward and be a key cog to this team.

“You know against New Zealand you’re going to have to score tries, simply trying to slot penalties probably isn’t going to be enough because of the threat they pose.

“So having guys like him and other guys is vital because you need guys that are going to be game changers or game-breakers and he’s certainly one of those guys so he’s going to be important if he’s involved.”

Next up…the @AllBlacks #ENGvNZL #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/ECSj1v9FjR

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 5, 2018

Co-captain Owen Farrell – who kicked England to victory against the Springboks – will also feature after avoiding a suspension for his late tackle on Andre Esterhuizen, the fly-half not cited by World Rugby.

Joe Marchant, Nathan Earle and Alex Lozowski will all join the squad ahead of the All Blacks encounter, the trio set to return to their clubs on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, flanker Tom Curry will remain with the squad despite being ruled out of the rest of England’s fixtures this month with an ankle injury.

England squad:

Forwards: Charlie Ewels, Jamie George, Dylan Hartley, Alec Hepburn, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Courtney Lawes, Zach Mercer, Ben Moon, Brad Shields, Kyle Sinckler, Sam Underhill, Harry Williams, Mark Wilson.

Backs: Chris Ashton, Danny Care, Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Ben Te’o, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Youngs.

KEO.co.za News wire is powered by opta