Manu Tuilagi has mixed memories of playing against France. His two Six Nations matches against England’s opponents on Sunday have ended in victory, with Tuilagi on the scoresheet both times, but his first encounter against France illustrates just how long and winding his road has been. It came at the 2011 World Cup, ended in defeat and, even more ignominiously, with the then 20-year-old Tuilagi detained by police and fined £3,000 for jumping off a ferry in Auckland harbour.
“That feels like a long time ago,” Tuilagi said. “As you grow up you learn, you live and you learn, all the things that have happened, you make your bed and you’ve got to lie in it.”
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The image of Tuilagi the rogue is at odds with the man who now occupies England’s No 12 shirt. Last Saturday in Dublin the 27-year-old excelled on his first Six Nations start for six years and on Sunday he is set for back-to-back England starts for the first time since 2014. His injury problems in between have been torturous but fatherhood has mellowed him and, while he would never admit it, he is now a senior figure in the squad.
“He’s been brilliant,” the England assistant coach, Neal Hatley, said. “He’s been a calming influence on the squad. He doesn’t say a lot but when he does, people listen. He delivers with actions, you saw on the weekend the impression he leaves.”
What struck most about Tuilagi in Dublin was the sheer joy he took from being involved on the international stage again and his celebration after Henry Slade’s first try was the enduring image of England’s victory. A first Twickenham start since 2013 now beckons – and a seismic clash with France’s Mathieu Bastareaud.
He added: “You learn and try to be better as a person, but for me as a rugby player to come back now and to have a second opportunity to have a go at it, it’s about staying focused for that moment, to be present, not to look back or forward, just be here and enjoy this time.
“I always had in my mind when I was injured that I’d be back playing, back on the pitch. That’s what got me going when I was doing my rehab. The boys were outside and I told myself I’d get back out there in the end. You have doubts because you are out of the game for a long time.”
While Eddie Jones is expected to largely keep faith with the XV who defeated Ireland, Courtney Lawes is the frontrunner to start in the second row in the place of the injured Maro Itoje, though Joe Launchbury is also set for plenty of involvement. “You saw the tackles [Courtney] made [against Ireland], there are very few second-rows in the world who can get off the line and catch 10s behind the line like he did,” Hatley said. “He still hits pretty hard but his scrummage and his maul – those are areas where you are starting to see there is more grunt to him. And Joe was phenomenal for us in the week. Really positive. Courtney is different to Maro in what he brings but so is Launchbury potentially – we’ve got a great mix of three locks there.”
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There will be also be a fresh look to the bench with Dan Cole and Ben Moon included in the matchday squad as well as Joe Cokanasiga fit again and pushing hard for inclusion. He was certainly put through his paces by the England coaching staff in a gruelling one-on-one training session on Thursday and Tuilagi believes the 20-year-old Bath winger is a frightening prospect.
“He is an unbelievable player and a young lad that is coming through who has everything,” Tuilagi said. “Power, pace, size, skills, it is exciting times for us as a squad and for him too. I don’t want to play against him, that’s for sure. I was glad he wasn’t playing when we played against Bath away. It’s good to see him back fit now.”
If there were any danger of England letting victory in Dublin go to their heads, Jones has moved to turn up the heat a notch in training by inviting Pat Lam’s Bristol side to take part in the session on Thursday afternoon. There was no Charles Piutau for England to Test themselves against but Steven Luatua and John Afoa brought an All Blacks flavour to their opposition and perhaps more significantly George Smith, gave another masterclass at the breakdown, having been called on by Jones in a consultancy role in the past.
“Normally we don’t have the full quota of numbers so we’ll have forwards v forwards and some managed game play,” added Hatley. “We’re really grateful to Pat [Lam] – it gives us something closer to a game scenario.”