Flutey can hit the right notes for England, says Edwards

Shaun Edwards, the outstanding defence coach in world rugby, today hailed Riki Flutey as one of the best tacklers in the game and the man to shore up England's battered midfield. England were torn apart during their two-Test debacle in New Zealand and have convinced Flutey, a 28-year-old Maori, to opt for a new country.

Flutey, who cleared it with his family back in New Zealand before deciding to take up the England residency qualification he earns in September, has been included in manager Martin Johnson's 32-man elite player squad. It opens the way for the London Wasps centre to link up at international level with club-mate Danny Cipriani - when the mercurial No10 recovers from his serious leg injury.

Edwards, the Wasps head coach and Wales defence guru, has devised a special role for Flutey which sees the centre stand in the No10 position in defence and Cipriani switch to outside-centre. It is designed to make the best use of turnover ball, with Flutey a formidable obstacle in the outside-half channel and capable of transferring quickly to Cipriani, who can launch a punishing counter-attack.

This is a tactic England, under new attack coach Brian Smith, should replicate. Smith knows all about Flutey's skills, having brought him from Wellington Hurricanes four years ago to London Irish. Flutey joined Wasps a year ago and helped them win the Guinness Premiership title and collected the Players' Player of the Year award at the same time.

Edwards said: "Riki can defend strongly in any position in the backs and is one of the best defenders I have coached. It's like having an extra back-row player on the pitch and he creates lots of turn overs with his tremendous strength .

"Riki doesn't do a lot of talking and prefers to get on with his rugby and I am sure that England are fully aware of what he could do in midfield."