Rugby: England's bold move to axe Tuilagi

England player Manu Tuilagi. Photo / Brett Phibbs

On the face of it, England's World Cup bid has taken a heavy blow with their decision to not select Manu Tuilagi for committing serious off-field offences.

The powerfully-built Tuilagi, after being found guilty of assaulting two female police officers, will not be available to play for England until January. England will miss him.

He's a player with incredible running power and presence and the All Blacks have struggled with him in the past. England don't have anyone else quite like him and, with Tuilagi at centre, they posed a genuine threat in a critical channel.

Where England have been less certain is at second-five where they haven't really nailed yet who would be the right man to partner Tuilagi. So now they have two big holes in their midfield and there will no doubt be an element of angst.

But England coach Stuart Lancaster might have pulled off a masterstroke. He could have been weak and tried to play down the seriousness of the Tuilagi incident and found a way to get his preferred centre to the World Cup.

That he didn't was both brave and admirable and could yield significant intangible benefits. When England came to the 2011 World Cup, they had a rotten culture.

That much was exposed after a review in the wake of their horrid campaign found that senior players were obsessed with money and had a drink hard, train soft, play soft attitude.

Those findings led to a management and player clear-out and the arrival of Lancaster, who has improved the performances of England and restored pride in the jersey.

His strong stance on Tuilagi has denied England a must-have player, but will also have galvanised the squad. Senior players need to see consistency and integrity from management. When they spend so much time talking about culture, they have to see it enforced to believe in it.

Lancaster will have ingratiated himself more with his players as they will have seen he's willing to cut even the best player to preserve the rules and beliefs of the team.

That's powerful, and it could prove to be hugely effective at a World Cup that is going to — because they always do — boil down to who handles the pressures best.

World Cups become as much about character as talent. They become as much about unity and belief as lineouts and scrums.

England, by axing Tuilagi, have taken one step back so they can take two forward at the World Cup.