Leicester Tigers' Manu Tuilagi is set to make his England debut in encounter against visiting Wales
The Samoan born English Premiership player, Manu Tuilagi, will make his international debut for England in their pre-World Cup preparations encounter against Wales on Saturday, August 6, at
Twickenham, London.
England's head coach and manager, Martin Johnson, has announced his side for Saturday’s clash against the Scotland on Thursday, August 4.
Johnson has praised the behaviour and hard work of the Tuilagi during their training camps. He said, “Manu has trained very well and is very coachable. He is still young and inexperienced but
looks the part.”
Johnson added that he has observed a significant improvement in the skills of the youngster during the training camps. He added, “He (Tuilagi) has improved session by session and fully deserves
this opportunity. He has all the talents to develop into a top player.”
Tuilagi burst onto the rugby scene following his exceptional display of talent and game skills in the Tigers surprise win against the Rugby World Cup Champions, Springboks, in 2009/10. He is
the Leicester Tigers Academy graduate and the sixth member of the Tuilagi family who has played for the Tigers.
Besides featuring in the Premier A League Rugby championship, Tuilagi has played against the Classic All Blacks in 2008 and has already represented the England at under-16s, under-18s level
and Saxons team. He played his first premiership match of the 2010/11 season against Northampton Saints on September 5, 2010. He scored his first try for Tigers against the Leeds Carnegie on September 25, 2010.
The 20-year-old Tuilagi has played 25 games for the Tigers and has scored 40 points for them in both Aviva Premiership and in Heineken Cup competitions. He made his debut for the England Saxons
in the 2011 Churchill Cup during the Saxons’ pool match against the Italy A side. He scored his try in the second-half of encounter.
Tuilagi has expressed his delight on his selection in to the national side. He said, “It's unbelievable, I can't explain the feeling you get when you are going to play for England. It's going
to be my first cap and to do it at Twickenham is unreal.”
Tuilagi has been named in the starting XV for their weekend clash against Wales. He will start the match at the outside centre position while London Wasps' Riki Flutey will start the match
at the inside centre position, as the Johnson tries a new centre combination for the side.
Tuilagi has expressed his hope that he will make the most of the opportunity provided and play a role in securing victory for his side. He added, “The boys have worked hard during the camp
but now we have to perform against Wales.”
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