MX23RW : Thursday, May 16 21:06:26| >> :600:711691:711691:

Mike Brown: 'England will cope without Manu Tuilagi'

England full-back Mike Brown believes that the team will cope without Manu Tuilagi at the Rugby World Cup.

Mike Brown has insisted that England will cope without Manu Tuilagi at the Rugby World Cup.

The Leicester Tigers centre will miss the tournament after being convicted of assaulting two police officers.

While he admits that it is a "blow" for England to lose the 23-year-old, Brown believes that there is enough talent in the squad to fill the void this summer.

"It's a big blow – he's a world-class player who played for the Lions, and a phenomenal athlete," he told Sky Sports News. "But this just shows that everyone knows the standards that have been set and if don't uphold them then you won't play for England.

"It must have been tough for Stuart [Lancaster] to make that decision. But we have got quality players and we showed that in the Six Nations. Look how Jonathan Joseph has come along since then.

"We'll move forward as a team and hopefully Manu will move forward as an individual and learn from it, and hopefully the whole squad will learn, not that they don't already know, that they have to uphold our standards."

England's Rugby World Cup squad is due to be announced on Wednesday.

ID:223057: cacheID:223057:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2426:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manu Tuilagi holds onto the ball during the England captain's run at the Millennium Stadium on March 15, 2013
Read Next:
England confirm Tuilagi World Cup exile
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!