Centres of attention: Stats behind England's ever-changing midfield

When Sam Burgess and Brad Barritt line up in England's crunch Rugby World Cup clash with Wales in Pool A, they will become the 14th centre pairing used by Stuart Lancaster since his tenure began.

Since Lancaster took over at the start of the 2012 Six Nations, 43 internationals have been played, with 13 different midfield partnerships selected in the starting XV.

But who comes out on top? We delve into the stats to find out has stood out in England's midfield.

Dependable Saracens man Barritt is the most capped centre since Lancaster took over, despite missing the 2015 Six Nations through injury. He joined forces with Manu Tuilagi on 11 occasions, the most of any partnership since February 2012, and between them the duo have racked up a total of six wins and seven tries.

However, it is Billy Twelvetrees that tops the win-to-loss ratios. Twelvetrees missed out on a place in Lancaster's final 31-man World Cup squad despite winning 10 of the 13 games he has started in the midfield, including two wins over Australia.

Luther Burrell teamed up with injured outside centre Jonathan Joseph to score five tries in six matches, playing in this season's Six Nations campaign and England's warm-up game against France in Paris.

A surprising statistic comes from England's forgotten man Joel Tomkins. The cross-code international spent three years in rugby union with Saracens, making three appearances in Lancaster's side before returning to the thirteen-man code. During a trio of appearances wearing the red rose, Tomkins was part of a winning side on two occasions, against Australia and Argentina, before narrowly losing 22-30 to New Zealand.

Exciting Bath centre Kyle Eastmond was a shock omission from Lancaster's World Cup training squad for many. The former St Helens rugby league player showed scintillating form for his club to take them to the Premiership final last season, however it wasn't enough to cement his place in Lancaster's plans.

On the international stage the picture is somewhat different for Eastmond. Of his five starts made for England since his move only one has ended in victory, against Argentina in Buenos Aries, though his other matches came against southern Hemisphere powerhouses New Zealand and South Africa.

All eyes turn to Twickenham as Barritt and Burgess take on Wales. Can this heavyweight duo cement their places or will yet another chapter be written in the tale of the England centre selection dilemma?