TUILAGI BLOW DAMPENS TIGERS JOY

THE SIGHT of a distressed Manu Tuilagi sitting in the leicester dug-out clutching his injured chest was the downside of a dramatic win for the Tigers over their local rivals. This was a pulsating but brutal Aviva Premiership encounter and leicester, who also lost England wing Jonny May with a head knock, were not alone in suffering collateral damage. Wasps wing Elliot Daly had already scored two first-half tries when he was helped off in agony with a compound dislocation of two fingers on his right hand. His director of rugby Dai Young said: ‘It was a bad dislocation and the bone came out as well. It looked quite nasty but I’d like to think the recovery time will be weeks rather than months.’ Injuries of this nature typically require lay-offs of three to six weeks but Daly’s appeared extreme, so he could miss the remainder of the club season. That in turn would cast doubt on his participation in England’s June tour of South Africa — not welcome news for Eddie Jones given that Anthony Watson has just been ruled out of that trip. Tuilagi has been in England exile for some time and his hopes of a recall appear under threat once again. He was treated on the pitch in the eighth minute yesterday and was off four minutes later. leicester head coach Matt O’Connor said: ‘Manu has a slight pectoral strain. But he’s pretty buoyant and confident that it’s not a massive issue.’ Yet, it has become a familiar routine at leicester — a positive initial prognosis on Tuilagi turning out to be wishful thinking as his enforced absences drag on and on. Both sides squandered many scoring chances in this thrilling contest but the balance of power in the scrum appeared to dictate the outcome. Daly’s tries came when Wasps’ set-piece was in the ascendancy but the Tigers turned the tables through the boot of George Ford in the second half, aided by the explosive impact made by their returning England prop Ellis Genge. Ford’s final penalty came three minutes from time and kept leicester in the hunt to maintain their annual tradition of reaching the play-offs. ‘We didn’t take our chances and they wouldn’t go away,’ said a rueful Young. ‘leicester showed why they have been in the top four forever really.’ O’Connor hopes they can be there again soon and added: ‘That keeps us right in the mix.’ SALE should discover today whether one of their players will face disciplinary proceedings after an allegation of homophobic abuse overshadowed the 58-25 demolition of Worcester on Saturday. After a scuffle at a ruck, a clearly aggrieved Worcester fly-half Jamie Shillcock approached referee Andrew Jackson and said: ‘It was a homophobic slur, sir. Twice.’