NOW BROWN STOOPS TO CONQUER
MANU TUILAGI is poised to ‘run over’ opponents when Premiership Rugby returns tonight.
Sale’s heavyweight signing makes his Sharks debut at Harlequins as the English top flight resumes behind closed doors after 159 days.
With nine of the 22 regular season rounds still to play, Steve Diamond’s team trail leaders Exeter by five points.
And, from what he has seen of his star recruit, Sale’s no-nonsense boss has no doubt Tuilagi will take his new club to another level.
“Manu is the ultimate pro,” said Diamond, who pairs the England star with Sam Hill in a new midfield at The Stoop. “He’s been error-free through three weeks of training.
“The only person who trained the way he trains was Jason Robinson. People go, ‘Bloody hell, how has he done that?!’.”
With matches against top-five rivals Chiefs, Bristol and Wasps in their first four games, Sale know they must start fast – hence no time wasted harnessing Tuilagi’s immense power.
Diamond (below) said: “Manu turned up in incredible condition and I have seen a steeliness around him that is second to none.
“What Manu,
Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Sam
Hill and Sam
James bring is a combination of power and skill.
“We’re going to run over people. The basis of our game is momentum and people like Manu give you that momentum.”
When Tuilagi left Leicester last month, refusing to accept a 25 per cent pay cut, it seemed he would be lost to both the Premiership and the England team.
But Sale swooped, reckoning they would recoup much of the financial outlay through increased brand awareness.
Diamond said: “I am getting asked more rugby questions on a night out than I ever did – and we have seen an exponential increase in people wanting to be involved. “So, yeah, what he brings off the field is massive for us.” Diamond knows that, even if his injury-prone centre stays fit, he will be away on international duty for half the year. But here, too, he has done his sums.
“Manu will be available for us next year for 13 to 14 games,” he added. “If we get him playing 14 games, then he has made the right decision leaving Leicester and I have made the right decision bringing him in.
“He’ll go on the Lions tour and we’ll re-sign him for another three years. The ball is 100 per cent in his court – and he will deliver.”
MIKE BROWN, England’s mostcapped full-back, breaks a Premiership record when rugby returns tonight.
Brown, 34, out injured since October last year, plays his 103rd league game at The Stoop for Harlequins against Sale – the most by any player at a single venue.
He rejoins a back division completely changed from that which Quins fielded in the very last top-flight game before lockdown.
Also returning is wing Nathan Earle, who ruptured a knee ligament in April last year.
P W D L
Exeter 13 9 0 4 9 390 230 45 Sale 13 8 0 5 8 334 190 40 Bristol 13 8 1 4 4 289 264 38 North’pton 13 7 0 6 7 303 311 35 Wasps 13 6 0 7 9 339 328 33 Bath 13 7 0 6 2 241 293 30 Harlequins 13 5 1 7 6 285 337 28 Lon Irish 13 5 1 7 6 255 350 28 Gloucester 13 4 0 9 10 268 282 26 Worcester 13 4 0 9 6 202 301 22 Leicester 13 4 1 8 2 207 302 20 Saracens 13 9 0 4 6 338 263 -63 *Saracens deducted 105 points for breach of the salary cap