Tuilagi dancing with delight after victory
MANU Tuilagi has revealed staring down Tonga’s haka inspired his rampaging display in a 35-3 victory that launched England’s World Cup in unconvincing fashion.
Tuilagi stormed over for two firsthalf tries to indicate he will be Eddie Jones’ most potent attacking weapon in Japan, having finally overcome four injury-blighted years.
The 28-year-old of Samoan heritage took pride from facing his fellows Islanders as they performed their ritual challenge just before kick-off.
Tuilagi said: “It is where I am from. It is a privilege to stand in front of the Tongan war dance.
“It was brilliant. It definitely fired us all up for that game.
“It definitely fired me up watching that. It was good to be standing in front of it. It is an unbelievable experience.
“I have not done that before. I have only played Fiji before - the Cibi - but the first time against Tonga was unreal.”
Tuilagi’s ability to scatter defenders was the highlight of an underwhelming performance which saw the bonus points secured with just three minutes to spare.
He added: “We gained the five points we needed, now we can move on and focus on the USA.
“There were some small mistakes and some discipline to tidy up. Just little bits but important bits. We will put it right.
“For me there is still a lot to learn from that game but we will learn from it and put it bed and then all the focus will be on the USA. I hope there will be more to come.”
Meanwhile, Eddie Jones admitted England needed “Fergie time” to ensure their World Cup title quest began with a bonus-point victory over Tonga.
It took until the 77th minute to deliver the fourth try through Luke Cowan-Dickie which sealed the win at the Sapporo Dome - but a laboured performance left plenty of areas for improvement.
Sir Alex Ferguson visited the squad in Bristol during the summer and Jones referred to the former Manchester United manager’s ability to inspire late goals from his players to illustrate England’s ability to claim the prize they sought.
He said: “During the lead-up to the World Cup we had a number of coaches and specialists in. One person we were lucky enough to have in was Sir Alex Ferguson.
“One of the things his teams were renowned for was, what do they call it? Fergie time. Fergie time!
“The message was be patient and that is what I enjoyed about our team in this game.
“There was no sign of panic and they kept on playing good rugby and the try came.”