TURN TU MANU FOR SUPPORT
Nowell: ‘The Chief’ always backs me when I’m injured
JACK NOWELL has been helped through his injury woes by an expert in the field, Manu Tuilagi.
Tuilagi is no doctor but he is no stranger to the casualty department with his latest knee problem ruling him out of another England expedition, this trip Down Under, which starts with Saturday’s First Test here. The centre made his Test debut in 2011, Nowell his in 2014, and they could have chalked up more than 200 caps between them if they kept out of surgical wards. Instead, Tuilagi (right) has made 46 England appearances and wing Nowell just 39 as they have born the brunt of modern rugby’s brutality. Nowell’s latest calamity was suffering a broken arm against France in March which left him racing to be fit for this tour but he made it just. And he has credited the Sale midfielder with keeping his spirits up when he thought he would miss out again.
“I quite often speak to ‘The Chief ’,” said Nowell, 29, a veteran of the 2016
3-0 win over Australia.
“A few weeks before we came out here I went up to Manchester to see how he’s getting on.
“He’s always one of the first people to text me when he hears I’m injured at club level and vice versa. We both know what we’re going through (below, duo). A lot of the lads who are fit all the time – and lucky enough to stay injury-free – don’t really get that. “When you’re in the unfortunate position and see the darkness of it, it’s quite tough. Manu’s in a similar position to me in terms of injures but I look at him and think, ‘He’s always so positive.’ The energy for him to get back is always there. “He’s never one I’ve ever noticed to be depressed, down or frustrated. I also try to be like that. “They said the arm was a 10-12 week injury but for me it had to be a 10-week injury for me to be fit for Exeter and the Baa Baas game and to come on this tour. “It was always in my mind I wanted to come but it was quite tight towards the end.”
Nowell’s medical record, apart from his busted arm, includes knee, ankle, toe, hamstring, quad and calf injuries. Tuilagi’s is too long to catalogue and they have not played together since the 2019 World Cup pool match against Argentina.
They were due to be reunited against Wales in February but Tuilagi’s hamstring went on the eve of the match.
“During the Six Nations we laughed quite a bit because we were always missing each other,” said Nowell. “We kept saying we were like ships in the night.
“We were lined up to play in the Wales game but he was injured on his last training day. I try not to take things too seriously. If I started thinking like that I think I’d get bogged down quite a bit.”