Manu Tuilagi
Encyclopedia
Manu Samoa Tuilagi is a Samoan
born British
professional rugby union
player who currently plays for Aviva Premiership side Leicester Tigers
. He plays on the wing or as a centre.
, Freddie Tuilagi
, Alesana Tuilagi
, Anitelea Tuilagi and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi
, all of whom are Samoan internationals.
Tuilagi represented Leicester in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham
in 2009. The team only made it out of the first round, having beaten London Wasps
: in this game, Tuilagi made a big hit on Wasps sevens captain Chris Bishay
.
Tuilagi played for the victorious Leicester Tigers side against at Welford Road
on 6 November 2009.
He began his first season (2010–11) with the senior Tigers side with plenty of promise. Tigers Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill
said that he expected Tuilagi to be a first-team regular and to play for before long. During this season he started the majority of games for Tigers' and was called up for England Saxons duty. In Leicester's Premiership semi-final against Northampton Saints
on 14 May 2011, Tuilagi received a yellow card for punching Chris Ashton
. Tuilagi was later cited for this offence, and given a 10-week ban, later reduced to five weeks.
game against Italy 'A' in January 2011, scoring a second half try in a match which England won 45-17. In June 2011 he was named in England's training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
and has since been a regular in the starting line up.
In addition Tuilagi has been involved with the England Sevens
squad. In May 2010 he represented an "England VII" in the London Floodlit Sevens, playing under the 'Dig Deep England' banner. In helping England retain their title, UR7s said that he had "made the biggest impact against Saracens (in the final) combining brutal power with subtle offloads".
On 4 August 2011, Tuilagi's England début was confirmed for the World Cup warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham on 6 August 2011.
He duly started and scored a try in the 44th minute underneath the post, after an inside pass from Jonny Wilkinson
.
He then played in the third warm up game, a victory over Ireland, and scored again.
In the aftermath of England's 2011 World Cup exit to France, Tuilagi was detained by New Zealand police and subsequently fined £3000 by the England team for jumping into Auckland harbour from a ferry.
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
born British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
professional rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who currently plays for Aviva Premiership side Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
. He plays on the wing or as a centre.
Family
Manu is the younger brother of Henry TuilagiHenry Tuilagi
Enele "Henry" Tuilagi is a Samoan rugby union footballer. He currently plays for USA Perpignan in the French club competition, the Top 14, and has appeared four times for his national team Samoa...
, Freddie Tuilagi
Freddie Tuilagi
Fereti Tuilagi is a former Samoan rugby union Rugby player who previously played rugby league for Halifax Blue Sox and St. Helens. He played as a wing or centre and now is currently retired...
, Alesana Tuilagi
Alesana Tuilagi
Alesana "Alex" Tuilagi is a Samoan rugby union footballer. He currently plays for the Leicester Tigers in the English club competition, the Aviva Premiership, and has appeared numerous times for his national team Samoa...
, Anitelea Tuilagi and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi
Sanele Vavae Tuilagi
Sanele Vavae Tuilagi is a Samoan professional rugby union player. Sanele is the younger brother of Henry, Freddie, Alesana and Anitelea Tuilagi who are all Samoan internationals. He is also the older brother of Manu Tuilagi, an England international.Sanele played for the Samoan National U-20 team...
, all of whom are Samoan internationals.
Club career
Tuilagi played junior rugby at Hinckley RFC from U14's to U16's; winning the Leicestershire county cup at U16's. He was a student at John Cleveland College where he was part of the team that won the Leicestershire schools county cup three years running; he played in the U15's Daily Mail Vase, losing to Langley Park Boys School in the Final at Twickenham Stadium. Tuilagi played in the Daily Mail Vase final again in U18's where, after collecting a crossfield kick, he scored a try in the victory over Hampton School.Tuilagi represented Leicester in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
in 2009. The team only made it out of the first round, having beaten London Wasps
London Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
: in this game, Tuilagi made a big hit on Wasps sevens captain Chris Bishay
Chris Bishay
Chris Bishay is a rugby union footballer who used to play fullback, or wing for Wasps, and is currently playing for Moseley....
.
Tuilagi played for the victorious Leicester Tigers side against at Welford Road
Welford Road Stadium
Welford Road is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England and is the home ground for Leicester Tigers. It is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the edge of the city centre...
on 6 November 2009.
He began his first season (2010–11) with the senior Tigers side with plenty of promise. Tigers Director of Rugby Richard Cockerill
Richard Cockerill
Richard Cockerill is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a hooker.Cockerill was born in Rugby. Joining Leicester Tigers, he established himself as the B of the "ABC club" alongside Graham Rowntree and Darren Garforth .He made his England debut against Argentina in 1997 and...
said that he expected Tuilagi to be a first-team regular and to play for before long. During this season he started the majority of games for Tigers' and was called up for England Saxons duty. In Leicester's Premiership semi-final against Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
on 14 May 2011, Tuilagi received a yellow card for punching Chris Ashton
Chris Ashton
Chris Ashton is an English rugby union player who has represented England in both Rugby League and Rugby Union...
. Tuilagi was later cited for this offence, and given a 10-week ban, later reduced to five weeks.
International career
Tuilagi said he would prefer to play internationally for , where he had grown up. He was selected to start the England SaxonsEngland Saxons
England Saxons is the current name of England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A...
game against Italy 'A' in January 2011, scoring a second half try in a match which England won 45-17. In June 2011 he was named in England's training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
and has since been a regular in the starting line up.
In addition Tuilagi has been involved with the England Sevens
England national rugby union team (sevens)
The English national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Honours:* 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament - Winners* Rugby World Cup Sevens Winners 1993* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2002* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2003*...
squad. In May 2010 he represented an "England VII" in the London Floodlit Sevens, playing under the 'Dig Deep England' banner. In helping England retain their title, UR7s said that he had "made the biggest impact against Saracens (in the final) combining brutal power with subtle offloads".
On 4 August 2011, Tuilagi's England début was confirmed for the World Cup warm-up match against Wales at Twickenham on 6 August 2011.
He duly started and scored a try in the 44th minute underneath the post, after an inside pass from Jonny Wilkinson
Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter "Jonny" Wilkinson OBE is an English rugby union player and member of the England national team. Wilkinson rose to acclaim from 2001 to 2003, before and during the 2003 Rugby World Cup and was acknowledged as one of the world’s best rugby players...
.
He then played in the third warm up game, a victory over Ireland, and scored again.
International tries
| Try | Opposing team | Location | Venue | Competition | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Twickenham Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000... |
Test Match | Won | ||
| 2 | Dublin, Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the... |
Test Match | Won | ||
| 3 | Dunedin Dunedin Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until... , New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
Otago Stadium | 2011 Rugby World Cup 2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005... |
Won | ||
| 4 | Dunedin, New Zealand | Otago Stadium | 2011 Rugby World Cup | Won |
Personal life
In June 2010, Tuilagi faced deportation from the United Kingdom after it emerged that he had entered the country on a holiday visa six years earlier and had stayed on illegally. After an appeal, he was later granted indefinite leave to remain.In the aftermath of England's 2011 World Cup exit to France, Tuilagi was detained by New Zealand police and subsequently fined £3000 by the England team for jumping into Auckland harbour from a ferry.