Manu Tuilagi’s new Leicester deal will boost England, says Jonny May
Manu Tuilagi’s decision to sign a new deal with Leicester has been hailed as a significant boost for England ahead of the Rugby World Cup by his teammate Jonny May.
Tuilagi had been in discussions with the French club Racing 92 over a lucrative switch to the Top 14 in the summer, which would have made him unavailable for England because of the RFU’s edict on ignoring players based overseas.
However, May is convinced that Leicester and England will now get the best years of the 27-year-old’s career. “Manu’s got a big smile on his face and I think he is happy with the decision he has made,” May said.
“He is such a strong and powerful runner, he makes things happen and I still think he is getting better. The longer he stays fit and the more he plays the better he will get.”
Tuilagi has been capped 31 times by England but has struggled with pelvic and knee injuries for the past few years. However, May said that his teammate’s recent performances, including his first try for England for five years against Italy at the weekend, had reminded everybody that he is “world-class”.
May said: “He does what he does and there is nobody else quite like him. You had crash-ball centres 10 years ago. The way defences are now with line speed and being much more organised, it is very difficult to find somebody who can still do what he does with the way the game is played, but he certainly can. He can get you over the gain line better than anybody.”
May also stressed that England were determined to end their Six Nations on a high when they play Scotland this weekend. “Eddie called us in and said: ‘This is the last big proper Test match, isn’t it?’ Warmup games are warmup games but this is an opportunity to put a stamp down as to where we are now for the World Cup.
“Obviously it would have felt better if we had beaten Wales but we have played some brilliant rugby and we have definitely improved. We want to put down a marker against Scotland – not just for the rest of the world but to show the country to get behind us because we can win the World Cup.”
Tuilagi, who has been with Leicester since 2010, said of the extended deal of an as yet unknown length: “I’m very passionate about playing my part in bringing back the success we all expect at such a massive club.”