Six Nations: Dream debut for Billy Twelvetrees

Published on 04/02/2013 01:14

Billy Twelvetrees enjoyed a dream England debut against Scotland and hopes to have done enough to remain at inside centre for next Sunday’s RBS Six Nations trip to Ireland.

Twelvetrees scored one of 
England’s four tries in a 38-18 victory over 
Scotland and produced a classy all-round performance that won rave reviews and pointed to a big future on the Test stage. The 24-year-old’s 
Twickenham display provoked an immediate debate about the composition of the England midfield in Dublin next weekend, with Manu Tuilagi expected to be fit again.

Head coach Stuart Lancaster now has a selection headache as Tuilagi and Brad Barritt, who is a defensive rock, were key to England’s victory over New 
Zealand in December. That said, 
Twelvetrees would bring a different attacking dimension and made a strong case for selection.

“I always wanted to score a try for England at Twickenham. It was a very nice moment,” Twelvetrees said.

“I always believed I was good enough, it was just getting a chance to do it. I wanted as much ball as I could to do what I do best and I felt like I did that well. As soon as the points started rolling over I felt quite comfortable.”

Twelvetrees is a strong defender but it is with the ball that he comes into his own. He carries powerfully and at pace but also offers a second playmaking option in midfield.

Twelvetrees’ fledgling partnership with fly-half Owen Farrell is already drawing comparisons with the Jonny Wilkinson-Will Greenwood axis from England’s World Cup-winning team. It is early days, but Twelvetrees was happy with how they worked in tandem after just a fortnight training together. “I watch Owen in the Premiership every week,” he explained. “We sat down this week to work out what would work best for us against Scotland.”

England’s trip to the Aviva Stadium, where their Grand Slam dreams died two years ago, is looming as a potentially pivotal match in this year’s tournament. Lancaster also has other selection decisions to make. If Ben Morgan fails to recover from an ankle injury, Tom Wood could start at number eight with James Haskell on the blindside.

“This time last year we had seven players making their debuts and with Billy making his, we have a young side. There will be some selection decisions to make. We need to knuckle down to what will be a massive game against 
Ireland.”