Manu Tuilagi is back in contention for selection this weekend according to his Sale Sharks coach, Alex Sanderson, who also conceded that the England centre was “rushed back” to the international fold in time for the Six Nations.
“It needed a more graduated return to play, in terms of his loading, for him to take on [the] load he couldn’t handle that week,” Sanderson said of Tuilagi, who was selected to start against Wales after only 81 minutes of rugby following a three-month absence but then sustained a hamstring injury in training.
“Is that being rushed?” Sanderson asked. “Yes, in hindsight, I guess there’s no other way around it. He got injured, so we have to look at how he was managed. We are going to sit down with England, have another conversation about how we can get him through to [next year’s] World Cup fit and strong.”
Tuilagi’s return is welcome news for club and country. England sorely missed his physicality and direct running in midfield, tellingly utilising the prop Ellis Genge as their primary ball carrier against France in Paris last Saturday.
Sale, meanwhile, are seventh in a tightly packed Premiership table and play Bristol across two ties in the European Champions Cup round of 16 next month. Before that they have league games against Harlequins and Saracens as well as the trip to Bath this weekend. Sanderson was evidently delighted to have “one of the world’s best centres”, as he called Tuilagi, back in the ranks.
“He’s the glue off the field and forever a positive, smiley face,” Sanderson said. “On it he’s a wrecking ball. We talked a bit at the start of this week about how we can challenge each other at this business end of the season. That’s what he does. People grow a few inches around him and we get tighter as a squad. We’re very lucky to have him back.”
Sanderson’s upbeat demeanour shifted when talking about Tom Curry. The England loose forward will be out for five to six weeks with a grade two hamstring tear, but may be back in time for a possible Champions Cup quarter-final.
“He’s had a torrid time, hasn’t he?” Sanderson said of Curry who battled through a bout of tonsillitis in the same week he was made England captain for the opening game of the Six Nations against Scotland. Curry also missed the second half against Wales after failing a head injury assessment.
Sanderson was quick to point out that Curry was not the only England player who struggled during the tournament and noted the physical and psychological impact can stay with them once they return to their clubs.
“I’ve had past experience of seeing Saracens lads come back elated, sometimes full of themselves because of what they’ve achieved and the attention they received,” said Sanderson, who worked as an assistant coach with Saracens between 2008 and 2021. “At other times, like Maro Itoje would be the first to admit, it was probably the worst moment in his life losing that World Cup final, it took him a year to get over. You’ve got to go through that journey with them and get them out the other side.”
Sanderson welcomed back two other England players this week but neither stepped on the field throughout the Six Nations. The Sale director of rugby is not worried about the prop Bevan Rodd, who he said would brush off the disappointment like “water off a duck’s back”. He did, however, express concern over Raffi Quirke.
“Raffi took it quite hard, his expectations of where he was in the autumn, wanting to play, that’s something we’ll work through,” Sanderson said, but said he would be better for the experience of training in the England camp.
The young scrum-half is not guaranteed a starting place on Saturday. Standing in his way is the World Cup‑winning Springbok Faf de Klerk. “We said we’d pick them on merit, on training form and playing form, we’ve done that,” Sanderson said. “There isn’t a lot to choose between them, aside from the experience.”
Quirke may not have this problem for long. Both De Klerk and his countryman Lood de Jager have been rumoured to be leaving at the end of the season, though Sanderson would not budge: “Until the official media statement has been put out there, you’ll get nothing hot off the press from me.”
