Manu Tuilagi

Tuilagi limped off early in England's shock 24-17 loss to France in Paris due to a low grade strain that also kept him out of the Calcutta Cup win over Scotland the following week.

England are fourth in the standings with five points while Ireland are second with nine and former Wallabies coach Jones has retained 27 players ahead of the match at Twickenham.

"He's good," Australian Jones said when asked about Tuilagi's
fitness.

"(He) trained fully today so he should be in contention for selection.
It's good to have a quality player back."

In-form number eight Dombrandt did not make the matchday squad for the defeat to France in Paris on Sunday despite Billy Vunipola being ruled out with a broken arm.

Tom Curry was instead shifted to the back of the pack for the game at the Stade de France, with France running out 24-17 winners.

Dombrandt, who plays his club rugby for Harlequins, has not been included for the Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield.

Tuilagi is on the list of players, however, even though he suffered a groin injury in Paris, leading to him being substituted in the first half.

Tuilagi lasted just 15 minutes against the French before being removed from the action.

There was no obvious incident leading to the injury and many were left questioning how fit the centre was coming into the game.

The fact that England head coach Eddie Jones had picked centres on the bench seemed to confirm for many that Tuilagi wasn’t fit coming into the game.

Both Jonathan Joseph and Ollie Devoto were named on the bench, suggesting Jones was expecting that Tuilagi wasn’t likely to finish the match.

Toronto, who were promoted last month, are close to confirming the signing of Williams on a lucrative two-year contract.

The Daily Telegraph revealed that Brian McDermott, Toronto's head coach, watched the 34-year-old play for the All Blacks in their World Cup semi-final defeat by England in Yokohama, in which Tuilagi played.

They later held face-to-face talks and, as reported by The Telegraph on Saturday, Williams has been offered a deal that includes a minority stake in the Canadian club.

A photo has gone viral on Twitter of Manu Tuilagi in Japan alongside his brothers, Henry, Freddie, Alesana and Vavae, and people cannot believe the size of them.

The 18 stone Manu is easily one of the most fearsome and powerful players on the planet currently, but he is dwarfed by his four brothers in this picture, all of whom were also former players.

All five, as well as Anitelea (Andy) have had stints with Leicester Tigers over the years, as they built a rugby dynasty at Welford Road.

Tuilagi was awarded the ‘Master Card Player of the Day’ after the 35-3 win against the Tongans in the RWC opener on Sunday.

“It’s going to be a tough game for us. Now we have finished from Tonga. More of our focus is going to be on USA.”

The Samoan-born rugby player said the match against Tongans was tough.

“We know that coming to this game, Tonga was going to be a tough test for us. But we managed to get  five points. That’s a great start for our campaign.”

The Tonga full-back struck up a close relationship with Tuilagi after suffering a foot injury that resulted in eight months of treatment but it has healed in time for him to take part in the World Cup in Japan.

It was during his rehabilitation that he tapped into the experience of Tuilagi, who has finally been restored to full fitness following a sickening run of injuries spanning four years.

The blockbusting 28-year-old midfielder has been named in Eddie Jones’ 31-man squad for the global showpiece event in Japan and is set to play a key role as England search for their first world title since 2003.

A re-call into the national set-up after a turbulent period saw him make just five international appearances between June 2014 and November 2018, but his re-call into Jones’ side at the end of last year has seen Tuilagi blossom with the red rose on his chest.

Samoan-born Tuilagi is among a number of players with overseas heritage who are looking to repeat the heroics of Martin Johnson’s 2003 Webb Ellis Trophy winners by sweeping all before them in Japan.

Also represented to varying degrees are Fiji, Tonga, Nigeria and the United States, while Lewis Ludlam’s background is a mix of Guyanese, Palestinian and Egyptian. “I definitely think it helps. There’s a lot of different backgrounds in the team,” Tuilagi said.

Tuilagi, who has been named in the England’s Rugby World Cup squad, scored a try in their sensational 57-15 win over Ireland.

Fly-half George Ford said Tuilagi has been progressing well in his performance leading up to the world cup.

“Manu had some good continuity. You’re seeing some good things from him but I honestly do believe he is still getting better and building as well. He’s going to be unbelievable for us, he has got a massive smile on his face and he’s loving it at the minute.”