Rugby: Burgess to benefit from Tuilagi's axing from England Cup squad after assault

Manu Tuilagi has been a thorn in the side of the ABs. Photo / Greg Bowker

League convert Sam Burgess could be the man to benefit from blockbusting England back Manu Tuilagi's high-profile axing from the Rugby World Cup this year.

Burgess, 26, is expected to be named in England's preliminary 50-man squad on Wednesday as head coach Stuart Lancaster tries to limit the damage caused by Tuilagi's loss.

The Bath star, who has been switched between centre and flanker since signing from South Sydney Rabbitohs last year, is understood to have been told he will be involved in Lancaster's squad, which will convene at Pennyhill Park on June 21.

Some argue Burgess has not done enough to justify international consideration, but Bath director of rugby Mike Ford said: "Sam should be in the squad. As he can cover centre and the back row, it gives you the option of a 6-2 split on the bench.

"It suits us having Sam at six because we have Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph in the centre, but if England want him as a 12, you suspect it would be as a crash-ball player and they would need a ball player elsewhere in the backline."

Leicester will conduct further internal investigations into Tuilagi's convictions for assault and criminal damage, before deciding what disciplinary action to take against their England centre.

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty on Friday (NZT) to three charges of assault - understood to involve a taxi driver and two female police officers - after an incident in Leicester city centre in the early hours of April 26.

The criminal damage charge which he also accepted related to kicking the wing-mirror of the taxi during his confrontation with the driver.

Tuilagi was ordered to pay 6205 ($13,000) by Leicester magistrates and there may be further punishment to come once the Tigers have carried out further inquiries about the details of the case.

Asked for his reaction to Tuilagi's behaviour and his conviction, Leicester's director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, said: "I am disappointed. When I spoke to Manu about this, the first thing he said was, 'I was wrong, I will take the punishment.'

"He has never tried to get away from his responsibility or make excuses for himself.

"He can't behave like that, we know that.

"He has been punished by the court, he has been punished by England. I want to find out exactly the findings of the court, what he actually did and what he was convicted of. And then I will decide what I do with him."

While Tuilagi has been widely condemned for his actions, Cockerill called for some perspective, adding: "I will speak to the chairman and the chief executive, and we will have that discussion. There is a lot of hysteria around it, rightly so in some ways, and he knows you can't behave like that.

"We are all very holier than thou when it is not us. I am not excusing his behaviour, but we all know Manu is a better bloke than that and I don't want him to be portrayed as this certain individual, because I don't think that is fair on him."

Tuilagi has been a thorn in the side of the All Blacks in the past, scoring a try when England beat them 38-21 in 2012 at Twickenham.