Manu Tuilagi will bring a premature end to his England career with Eddie Jones’s blessing if he makes a lucrative move to Racing 92. Tuilagi was spotted at the Paris club last week and has been heavily linked with a three‑year deal at Racing worth upwards of £800,000 a year.
Tuilagi would be turning his back on England, however, having made his first international start in five years against Ireland this month, as well as Leicester, who have nursed him through a litany of injuries in recent years at no little expense considering his £450,000-a-year wage.
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The Rugby Football Union would also have to bend its eligibility rules for Jones to select him for this year’s World Cup, assuming Tuilagi’s mooted deal would begin in June, as most player contracts do. Racing would not be obliged to release Tuilagi for England’s World Cup preparations until mid-August but it is unlikely they would prevent him joining the squad early.
While there is no precedent in terms of England selecting players due to move overseas after a World Cup since the RFU tightened its eligibility process, the union has shown expediency in recent years by selecting Piers Francis and Brad Shields for summer tours, well before their contracts had finished in New Zealand. Even if Jones is able to select Tuilagi for Japan 2019, at 27 he could conceivably continue through towards France 2023, fitness permitting, if he stayed with Leicester.
Jones insisted it was not up to him to try to talk Tuilagi out of moving abroad, however. “Not my job,” the head coach said. “I don’t decide what he does for his family. Every player has a family situation they have got to look after and I want them to look after their families. He is in our family at the moment and we want him to play well for us; that is our only concern right now.”
Tuilagi’s return to the England setup has been universally welcomed by the rest of the squad, with the captain Owen Farrell praising his impact. “He is someone you look at before you go out for a game and see that big massive smile on his face and knowing that he is going to be unbelievably physical that makes you excited to go out there and play with him,” he said.
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But Jones dismissed the suggestion that Tuilagi’s potential departure could have a destabilising effect on his squad.
“We just have fun about it,” added Jones. “[We] give him baguettes, croissants, wear berets … [It’s] good fun. He’s got to make a decision and what decision he makes will be up to him. He is a massively important part of our team. The guys like playing with him, they love him. He loves playing with the team and that is his only concern at the moment. As long as he doesn’t get on the Eurostar between now and Saturday I’ve got no comment on it because all I’m worried about is Saturday.”