England vs Samoa in Pool D at the 2023 Rugby World Cup may not go down as the most important fixture in the tournament’s history, especially given that one team are already through to the quarter-finals and the other all but out.
However, for the Tuilagi rugby dynasty, it will be one of the most special and historic days of their sporting lives as the youngest member of the rugby-playing clan faces his homeland for the very first time.
After more than a decade in the international game, there is little that Manu Tuilagi hasn’t done but when he pulls on the No 13 England jersey on Saturday in Lille, he will be squaring off against not only the country in which he was born but the very team after which he was named.
All five of the powerful centre’s older brothers – Freddie, Andy, Alesana, Henry and Vavae – represented Samoa and when Freddie was called up to the 1991 Rugby World Cup squad, his parents celebrated by naming their new-born son Etuale Manusamoa Tuilagi, or Manu for short, with Manu Samoa being the name given to the country’s national rugby team.
Having been born in Fogapoa, a village with a population of 309 on Savai’i island, Manu joined his elder brothers in the UK as a youngster and followed in their footsteps to play for Leicester Tigers, before going his own way by electing to represent England.
But his Samoan heritage has helped define him as a person and a rugby player, with his physical ball-carrying and hard-hitting defence making him the most enticing of weapons to be deployed for a series of England coaches, even if injuries have perhaps stopped him having a generational impact.
So how will Samoa go about stopping one of their own as they look to beat England for the first time in their history?
“We want to be unapologetically Samoan,” explained Samoa skills coach Tusi Pisi. “He [Tuilagi] understands that. He plays like that. Give him a gift, he’ll give us a gift. Back and forth.”
Second row Brian Alainu’u’ese detailed exactly what being “unapologetically Samoan” involves.
“It means doing your job as best you can, being physical in everything that you do. And with a smile on your face,” he said. “It’s massive for me, for my family. We are a small country but we punch above our weight and I’m really honoured and privileged to be in the situation I am in right now.”
The impact of all the Tuilagi brothers at Leicester Tigers over the years has been monumental, with the Welford Road faithful taking them into their hearts.
They helped Leicester become a juggernaut throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and another long-term Tiger, Dan Cole, detailed the impact they have had in the East Midlands and beyond.
“It’s been massive,” said Cole, who will start at prop for England on Saturday. “The way in which the brothers have played for Leicester and performed. Culturally they’ve set the tone in the way they’ve played.
“Go on YouTube, just type in their names and go watch five-minute clips of them running over people and you will find out what they are about. They have that immense physical presence. There are plenty (of Tuilagi tackles) I enjoy, maybe because none of them have been on me! Just go on YouTube and enjoy three hours’ worth of content of those guys hitting people and that’s your afternoon done.
“We have seen some highlights this week of Henry and Alesana. We know about the physicality, but Alesana, there was one season he was unstoppable, he’d run over people, have the ability to catch, pass, offload and as a decoy runner, Manu is a similar vein. They’re fantastic players and are a fantastic part of why Leicester were successful.”
Cole also had plenty to say about Manu specifically, as his importance to England has only grown over the years, since his debut back in 2011.
“Manu has been a big part of England since 2010 or 2011 when he got capped – the way he plays on the front foot, the physicality he brings and the deftness of the touches around the field,” added Cole.
“In defence, he is also a big presence. He is a great player for us and I know he is very excited for this weekend. It’s the first time he has ever played against Samoa so he and his family are really looking forward to the occasion.
“When he first played he was an outstanding talent, you knew that straight away. He burst onto the scene and he was unstoppable. As time has gone on he’s married, had children. It matures a man and he has embraced that role. You’ve gone from a young guy, who was obviously very talented, to that more senior role in the team. He has a wealth of experience.”
Tuilagi has impressed at No 12 during this World Cup, with Joe Marchant outside him and George Ford running the show from fly half on the inside.
The return of captain Owen Farrell from his red card ban has prompted coach Steve Borthwick into a reshuffle however, as Ford stays at 10 but Farrell takes the 12 jersey, pushing Tuilagi to outside centre and Marchant onto the wing in a strategy that looks set to be kick-heavy in attack.
Ford-Farrell-Tuilagi was the 10-12-13 axis that shone at the 2019 World Cup, especially in the iconic semi-final victory over the All Blacks, but four years on, there is a lingering suspicion that Tuilagi may now be less suited to the No 13 role – with teams able to outflank him in defence, leaving England too narrow without the ball.
But if Ford and Farrell are to be part of the same team, then that is the role the 32-year-old will likely play. However, Pisi is aiming to ruin Tuilagi’s special day and is convinced Samoa have the horses to do it.
“We have never beaten England. If we do what we’ve trained and prepared for and we win against England, that’s the main thing,” added the coach. “We prepared very well during the week and we’re ready for a good battle. It’s an opportunity for us to make history and we understand that. They kick a lot, it’s part of their strength. We have trained during the week to nullify it.”
No matter how it plays out, this is a day Manu Tuilagi and the entire Tuilagi dynasty are unlikely to forget.
England vs Samoa kicks off at 4.45pm, 7 October on ITV
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