England’s Centre Conundrum: A Dilemma of Players or Strategy?
England’s rugby squad currently faces a perplexing situation regarding their centre pairing of Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence. The pressing question is whether to overhaul the game plan or to make changes to the player lineup. There is ongoing speculation about a potential role for Tommy Freeman, the wing from Northampton Saints, as he could be utilized more centrally, although the timeline for this shift remains uncertain.
Adding to the discourse, former England star Toby Flood has voiced his concerns regarding the current style of play under head coach Steve Borthwick. While Flood expresses admiration for Slade and Lawrence for adhering to the team’s tactical directives, he remarked in The i Paper: “These two centres, pre-tournament, were probably looking to be involved in the Lions tour, but I think they’ve done nothing – and that’s not against them; that’s not them having made errors or that’s not them having not tried to put their hand up. They have just not had the opportunity to do so. I can imagine their level of frustration is really high.”
With two crucial Six Nations matches left against Italy and Wales, England seeks to build on recent victories over France and Scotland in hopes of clinching the tournament title.
The narrow victory against Scotland last weekend marked the 13th consecutive match for the Slade-Lawrence centre combination since February 2024. Flood, who retired in 2021 after earning 60 caps for England, primarily as a fly-half, notes that the duo is underutilized. He adds, “If I’m Ollie Lawrence and I’m as big and strong as he is, and can do as much damage as he can do, I’d be very frustrated with the amount of times I’ve touched the ball in the previous three games. These two men, Henry and Ollie, are probably the two individuals who are getting the least out of the way Steve Borthwick is set up to play.”
Flood points out that England’s current approach is characterized by a conservative style that prioritizes physicality and defensive solidity over expansive play. He highlights how this strategy, while effective in some contexts, limits the attacking potential of the backs, particularly the centres. “To make it clear; I’ve got a lot of respect for the players because they are doing exactly what the coach wants. They’re buying into it, which is impressive. I can actually relate to it because, forgive the phrase, we had a mantra at Leicester under Richard Cockerill of ‘nobody likes us but who f*ing cares?’”
Flood also critiques the distribution from fly-half Fin Smith, noting that many of his passes have been directed towards forwards rather than backs. “I read the stats and I see Fin Smith making more tackles than he did passes, and that in itself is an insight into why they’re not getting the best out of everybody, including the centres,” he explains.
England’s former World Cup-winning centres have also weighed in on the matter. Will Greenwood has commented in The Telegraph that the Slade-Lawrence pairing “lacks pace” and suggests that Scotland exploited this weakness multiple times. Mike Tindall echoes this, pointing out that England fails to create the necessary opportunities for their centres to thrive.
Flood asserts that if England remains within a close score margin, they will adhere to their current kick-chase strategy, which explains their string of tightly contested matches. He believes that Borthwick must reconsider this approach for both the team’s and his own future as head coach. “The tight approach was acceptable for another of Flood’s former teams, Newcastle Falcons, in a relegation fight, or England with ‘the stimulus of a World Cup game, knowing it might get you into a semi-final or a final’, but it’s very different to a Six Nations game, or having to do it for 25 games in a row,” he states. “It’s not necessarily manageable forever when you start losing again and people start questioning the set-up and the desire from Steve.”
Borthwick has consistently argued that developing an effective attack takes time, but Flood believes that a willingness to embrace mistakes is crucial for attacking success. He suggests that the upcoming summer tour could present an opportunity to explore new attacking strategies heading into the autumn, although key players may be unavailable due to the Lions tour in Australia.
In addition to potential changes in strategy, the question arises: are there other players who could bolster England’s midfield? The team could consider selecting a powerful No 12 to provide support to the No 10 and enhance slow ball situations. Similar players, like Sione Tuipulotu, Damian de Allende, and Bundee Aki, have been effective in this role in the past.
However, Lawrence’s club does not envision him as that type of player, and there are limited alternatives. Bath, for example, showcases Lawrence alongside two promising centres who recently excelled in a win over Ireland A: the imposing Will Butt (No 12) and the agile Max Ojomoh (No 13).
Bath considers Ojomoh as a skilled ball player, while Lawrence and Butt are viewed as power runners. Their previous collaboration this season yielded positive results, particularly with Tom de Glanville at full-back acting as an auxiliary ball-player.
Although crash-ball centres are less common in modern rugby, they can be a valuable asset if they possess the necessary skills. For instance, Andre Esterhuizen from South Africa demonstrated both size for contact and the ability to offload effectively. When Harlequins utilized Esterhuizen, they employed strategic plays that created opportunities for him to exploit one-on-one matchups.
Providing Lawrence with similar chances to carry the ball would likely enhance his impact. In a narrow defeat against New Zealand last November, England secured a breakaway try from the now-injured Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, while Lawrence recorded only two carries and 27 tackles during that match.
Though Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant have moved to France, Marchant may soon return to address the centre issue. Northampton’s Fraser Dingwall is a strong playmaking No 12 option, and Fin Smith could potentially transition into that role as well. Additionally, the hard-running Oscar Beard of Harlequins has frequently been included in England training squads.
Among the most intriguing prospects is Freeman, who has been making waves this season as a wing for Northampton and England. However, he previously started 10 matches as a No 13 for Saints last season, and Borthwick is considering him for a similar role at the national level. Greenwood has even suggested that Freeman could follow in the footsteps of New Zealand’s Rieko Ioane by making a successful transition.
Freeman has already played some minutes in the centres during the current Six Nations, partly due to England’s 6-2 split of forwards and backs on the bench. England’s assistant coach Kevin Sinfield mentioned on Thursday: “He gets some time there [in training]. I think it is important to keep trying to develop Tommy as a centre.”
Northampton’s director of rugby Phil Dowson commented this week: “Wing is primarily where we see him [Freeman]. But on any given weekend, depending on injuries, depending on opposition, depending on all sorts of different factors, we would be more than comfortable to switch him.”
It’s important to note that Borthwick does not have the authority to dictate player positions to club coaches. Dowson explained, “We have discussions around that, and Steve’s been very good with that communication channel. It’s just a case of the balance of power is that in our best seven [backs], Tommy is on the wing at this point in time.”
Dowson further praised Freeman: “Tommy always excites me, whatever role he’s in. He can carry, he’s a big man, he’s fast, he can pass the ball. He’s got nice skills, he’s got a soft touch, a decent offload. He can zip a pass. And you saw [against Scotland], it was on advantage or there had been a knock-on, he’s got the ability to just dink the ball in behind, or kick long. So he’s a triple threat in that sense. But we’ve got great centres at the club, he hasn’t trained there enough for us recently in order to drop him straight in.”
As Lawrence and Slade continue to adapt their roles within the squad, the question remains: is England selecting two players who are essentially No 13s? Borthwick’s strategy aims for Slade to defend at 13 while attacking at 12, although Lawrence’s agility allows him to pose first-phase threats as well. He notably scored a well-executed try against France last year after receiving a flat pass from Alex Mitchell with George Ford as a decoy.
This scenario exemplifies the necessity for England to evolve their tactics in the remaining Six Nations matches. To facilitate more dynamic play, the team must embrace multi-phase strategies, giving Lawrence the opportunities he needs to carry the ball effectively. Coaches and players alike must be invigorated by the prospect of new possibilities.
Another approach to increase Lawrence’s involvement could be to utilize him centrally during kick returns, as England found some success in this area during their recent loss to Ireland. Despite a promising line break by Lawrence last week, there was disappointment when he mishandled a scoring pass while rejoining the attack.
Decision-making and the ability to read the opposition defense are crucial elements in this context. For instance, Butt demonstrated astute judgment during the England A match against Ireland A, opting to distribute the ball to back-rowers Alfie Barbeary, Tom Pearson, and Greg Fisilau when he recognized the Irish defense was retreating.
Flood encapsulates the essence of this dilemma with a memorable anecdote: “It depends on what you have in your repertoire. I always joked that I looked like the best decision-maker on the planet, because I’d have Manu Tuilagi short, his brother Alesana out the back who was twice the size, and Vereniki Goneva in the middle – and any one of them could go through a hole.”
