Sport Rugby Union
Centre played on with
groin problem in 2014
It was so stupid – you
must be honest, he adds
By Daniel Schofield
The snapshot of Manu Tuilagi in
full flight at Twickenham with 11
Welsh defenders in pursuit was a
reminder of how much terror he
can strike into the most well-drilled
of international defences.
How different might English
rugby history have been had he
been able to consistently wreak
such havoc since making his debut
in 2011. His availability has been a
point of near obsession for succes-
sive England head coaches, from
Martin Johnson to Stuart Lancaster
and now Eddie Jones, who labelled
him the “pinball machine” after
that run against Wales.
Instead, the centre has been af-
flicted by a wicked succession of
long-term injuries, which had
restricted him to two England
replacement appearances in five
years until the start of 2019. His
luck had been so wretched that it
was tempting to think he had
crashed through every one of Ver-
sailles’ Hall of Mirrors.
Yet there is no curse. Instead Tui-
lagi can identify precisely where
and when his problems struck – and
why they were largely self-inflicted.
At the start of the 2014-15 season,
Tuilagi pulled his adductor muscle
in his groin. Rather than admit the
problem, Tuilagi played on, hiding
the issue from the Leicester phys-
ios, in part because he did not real-
ise how much damage he was doing
to himself.
“It was stupid,” Tuilagi said. “I
had no idea what an adductor felt
like if you pulled it. I did it on the
Thursday, played on the Saturday
and strapped it up. I played five
games with it and it went higher
and higher into my groin. At one
stage I started strapping my pubis.
The physio was like, ‘What are you
doing?’ I said, ‘Er, nothing’.”
Then came the fifth game against
Ulster in October 2014 when Tuila-
gi’s world – and groin – fell apart. “I
got the ball, went to accelerate and
bang, there was a pop, a loud pop
and I just couldn’t walk,” Tuilagi
said. “I had pretty much dislocated
my pubic bone.”
Tuilagi was subsequently out for
15 months. While there is virtually
no body part that Tuilagi has not
damaged, that groin injury has
been at the root of so many of his
problems. He has suffered more
than 10 separate long-term injuries.
He often ponders how his career
might have been different had he
revealed the initial injury to the
Leicester physios. “I would say, ‘It
is a bit sore’. It got to that point
where you are running and trying
to just take the pain,” Tuilagi said.
“With injuries you have to be
honest. That is the best, because if
you’re not honest with the physio
they don’t know how to treat you.
That’s the biggest thing, trying to
be honest as much as possible.”
Working with psychologist Matt
Thombs at Leicester has helpedTuilagi in this regard, yet the pain
game remains a fine balance. Every
rugby professional plays hurt.
Toughing it out is rooted within the
sport’s culture. Knowing where the
line of too much pain is comes only
with experience.
“There are some things that you
can play through with pain,” Tuilagi
said. “There are some that you just
can’t. You can take the pain but if
you physically can’t do it, not
because of the pain, but because
your body mechanically can’t do it.
That’s the problem.”
Even at 28 and as one of Eng-
land’s longest serving players, it
seems strange to think of Tuilagi as
a wise old head dispensing advice.
He took Ruaridh McConnochie
under his wing after the Bath wing
twice had his debut postponed
because of late injuries. “I know
how he’s feeling,” Tuilagi said. “I
said, ‘Keep your head, keep going
and think positive’.”
Asked what advice he would give
his younger self, Tuilagi said: “To
look after your body a bit more and
listen to it, don’t force it, because
that is how it all started for me. You
just think, ‘I am never going to get
injured’. Even if it hurts you think,
‘I will be all right’. That is a lesson.”
Tuilagi’s continued good health
will be critical to England’s World
Cup prospects. In the absence of
Ben Te’o, no other centre can repli-
cate his gain line-breaking threat.
So far so good. For the first time
in his career he started every Six
Nation match and, after coming off
the bench twice against Wales, he is
expected to start against Ireland on
Saturday. He knows now not to look
too far ahead, but is determined to
make the most of every moment.
“I love being here,” Tuilagi said.
“Especially with this group of play-
ers. It’s something special that is
happening here and for me, just
being part of that is unbelievable.”England injury curse was
my own doing, says Tuilagi
AFPTe’o signs
on to play
at Toulon
Toulon have
signed
England’s
Ben Te’o on
a short-term
deal. The
32-year-old
has joined
the French
club until
November
as cover
during the
World Cup.
The New
Zealander,
who left
Worcester
at the end of
last season,
has not
made Eddie
Jones’s
squad for
Japan. His
World Cup
omission
came two
weeks after
he was
involved in
a scuffle
with
team-mate
Mike Brown
during a
social event
at a squad
training
camp. By
moving
abroad, Te’o
will now be
ruled out of
any England
selection.Iconic picture: Manu Tuilagi leaves
Welsh defenders trailing in his wake8 *** Thursday 22 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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