England injury curse was my own doing, says Tuilagi
Centre played on with groin problem in 2014 It was so stupid – you must be honest, he adds
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 successive 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 afflicted 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 Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors.
Yet there is no curse. Instead Tuilagi 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 physios, in part because he did not realise 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 Tuilagi’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 helped Tuilagi 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 England’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 replicate 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 players. It’s something special that is happening here and for me, just being part of that is unbelievable.”