You can cruise through the group stage but knockout games are decided by big displays and England's Manu Tuilagi is approaching his peak, says Tom Fordyce.
It doesn't need to matter. Just win. Get the bonus point in the bag. Keep everyone fit, move on, step it up.Two weeks ago Tonga were shipping 14 tries against New Zealand. While the comparison between a warm-up game and tournament proper is not entirely accurate, the display of the reigning champions in putting away the far stiffer challenge of South Africa in Yokohama on Saturday cast a shadow over all other pretenders to their throne.
Johnson's own reign as England coach was ended by a World Cup campaign that fell apart rapidly after a similarly unflattering opening game, that time a squeaky one-try win over Argentina in Dunedin. And so Jones can count himself lucky that he has Tuilagi not only back but looking both leaner and more powerful than he ever has in an England jersey, a low-slung bulldozer with the acceleration of a sports car and the power of a wrecking-ball.Rugby World Cup: Watch the best moments as England, Ireland and Italy win on day three
Tuilagi has always had the potential to be a player like that and England will need him to be. In a team based around power and its relentless application he is its smiling embodiment, a point of difference with the bluntest of corners.
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