So much has changed for Manu Tuilagi since he won his first England cap in the summer of 2011. The endless hours spent on the treatment table, strapping his body together again, have taken their toll. The 20-year-old, who was billed as the future of English rugby, as someone capable of things hitherto unseen in a white jersey, has developed into a wise old head, an elder of Steve Borthwick’s squad. The one constant, however, is Tuilagi’s unmistakable smile.
As he prepares for what is expected to be his 60th and final England appearance on Saturday, Tuilagi could be forgiven for a litany of regrets. Without such injury trouble – and some of it was self-inflicted because he would hide the issue to keep playing – he would surely have reached three figures. He has also endured disciplinary problems – missing the 2015 World Cup in England as a result – and only a few matches into his England career he became infamous for jumping off a ferry and into Auckland harbour.
Regrets do not seem to register with Tuilagi, however. You wonder if he even knows the word because, after dancing around the fact that he looks set for a move to France’s Top 14 in the summer with his usual playful manner, he is reflecting on that 2011 incident and is moved to something approaching hysterics. “That was good fun! Life is fun, if you want it to be.” What would his advice be to youngsters in his position now? “Just enjoy yourself. If you have the opportunity to enjoy yourself and play the game that you love [then do it]. I always say enjoy it, enjoy being around the people that you have. You can always learn from them, help each other.”
New Zealand is synonymous with Tuilagi’s career. It was against the All Blacks that he exploded on to the scene at Twickenham in 2012 after showing the world that grin of his while the haka was performed. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Tuilagi a couple of years ago, while in 2019 he was at the heart of England’s World Cup semi-final victory against New Zealand.
It is performances such as those that explain why Stuart Lancaster and Eddie Jones would never give up on Tuilagi. Lancaster was once asked what the biggest thing England had missed after one of their second-placed Six Nations finishes during his tenure and his one-word response was telling: “Manu”. He played only twice in Jones’s first three years as head coach but found fitness in 2019, signposting his World Cup form with a destructive performance in a warmup match against Ireland at Twickenham.
“You can say [being injured for so long is] bad or you can say it’s a blessing,” says Tuilagi. “There are times when you wake up and you’re like: ‘It’s a long way.’ But I always think of the love for the game, loving what you do. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to keep going and you’ll get there. I love what I do and I am so blessed to be able to do it. I wake up every day and think, ‘Wow, this is an amazing life.’ Life is full of ups and downs and that is what makes it so exciting.”
The latest injury was a groin problem – making Saturday’s likely swansong his first appearance since late December – and before that he broke his hand twice during the World Cup in France last year. “After the game against Samoa I knew it was broken,” he says. “I said to the doctor that did the X-ray, ‘Can I play with this?’ He said: ‘It’s up to you.’ I was like, ‘Great, thank you.’ As a rugby player, if you can play, you will and luckily, for me, I was able to. It’s just pain. That’s what I tell my kids. Even when they are crying, I say to them, ‘What is it?’ and they answer, ‘It’s just pain!’ But it is.”
It was under Jones that Tuilagi developed into an avuncular figure within the squad and, speak to anyone who has played with him in recent years, the love they have for him is as genuine as it is abundant. It shows how far he has come from his first call-up – “I remember being the youngest one there and shitting myself. I first came in and Jonny Wilkinson stood up and shook my hand. He said, ‘Nice to meet you Manu.’ I was like … ‘OK!’.” Now Jamie George is due to invite Tuilagi to address his teammates before the Six Nations finale against France.
“I remember he [once] spoke about how much enjoyment he gains and how much he loves playing for England, and the smile that it brings to him,” says George. “Sometimes sat around in a circle, the second he starts talking, people listen, it’s quiet, and more often than not it’s absolute wisdom.”
So what are Tuilagi’s highlights of playing for England? “It is having that opportunity to play for England, not only once but to do it a few times.” That enjoyment of getting to represent England is something he is eager to encourage his younger teammates to embrace: “You never know when it’ll be the last time.”
As he is speaking, the curtains come down prematurely on the stage behind the 32-year-old. “I think that’s the cue for us,” he says, the symbolism not lost on him.
