Should Owen Farrell play at 12 in the World Cup?

“AN INSIDE-CENTRE (No 12) needs to be the eyes and ears of the fly-half (ten), getting information from his outside and telling the ten where the space is.

“The ten is going to be under a lot of pressure and if he has a 12 having that dialogue, ‘Let’s run this play’, little details can really spark a back-line.

“Owen Farrell is able to do that. We know that. He has more than 100 caps, has captained England many times and has played the majority of those Test matches at 12. I played with him at England level and have seen what he is capable of. He reads the game very well and offers something different there.

“But I think there’s room for both options. I want to see Owen start at ten for England and I’d like to see Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi chucked in there together in midfield.

“Then in the latter stages of games I’d like to see Owen pushed out to 12, with Ollie at 13 and George Ford coming in to try a different dynamic.