TUILAGI WILL SAY GOOD-BAY TO ENGLAND

MANU TUILAGI has played his final game for England after agreeing to join French club Bayonne in a two-year-deal.

The centre will leave Sale in June and only needs to pass a medical before the move is finalised.

The 32-year-old won his 60th cap in Saturday’s 33-31 defeat by France in Lyon after coming on as a replacement for Henry Slade in the 59th minute.

Current RFU guidelines mean any player who moves abroad becomes ineligible for international selection.

While Tuilagi is saying goodbye to England, Danny Care is not ready to stop pulling on the Red Rose.

The scrum-half came off the bench against France to take him to 101 England appearances, but admits his international future is up in the air.

Care, plus veteran props Dan Cole and Joe Marler, have yet to confirm their plans and the half-back will discuss options with wife Jodie.

Care helped England to three wins out of five for their best tournament return since 2020 and admits he is loving recent life in the Test fold highlighted by the 23-22 win over Ireland 10 days ago.

He said: “I am still not out at the moment. I’m going to go home and speak to the family. I’ve not made any big decisions yet. What I have done though is I’ve loved being a part of this team.

“The past year but particularly this past seven weeks, during the Six Nations, have been some of my favourite times in an England shirt. Last week was an unbelievable feeling, I thought we were going to do it again against France and maybe surpass last week. But I’ve never been prouder to wear an England shirt.”

Care’s international career has looked over twice, in 2018 when he was axed by Eddie Jones, and in 2023 when he was left out of the Six Nations.

But he bounced back to make the last World Cup under Steve Borthwick, has kept his place since and could tour Japan and New Zealand this summer.

That would take him back to Auckland’s Eden Park, where England play the final Test of the tour on July 13, the scene of his international debut in 2008.

Care added: “If it had all finished a couple of years ago it would have been a a bit rubbish, so I’m delighted with how the last year has gone.

“I owe Steve and the coaching staff an awful lot for giving me another opportunity. I’ve had an amazing time and this team is going to go in one direction.

“Whether I’m a part of that or not, I’ll be the happiest person to be a part of it or watching it.”