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'Just go on YouTube and enjoy hours of those guys hitting people'
Dan Cole has led the plaudits ahead of a big weekend for the famed Tuilagi family, with youngest brother Manu set to play for England against Samoa, the country of his birth, for the first time.
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The 32-year-old was still a teenager when the countries last clashed at the Rugby World Cup, the English winning a France 2007 clash in Nantes 44-22 against a Samoan XV that featured Alesana and Henry Tuilagi, two of Manu’s older brothers.
Now they go at it again at France 2023 with Manu wearing the white of England, a situation that provided the backdrop for veteran tighthead Dan Cole to wax lyrical about the influence that the Tuilagi family had over the years at his club Leicester.
“It’s been massive,” he said about the legacy of the Tuilagis ahead of Saturday’s Pool D encounter in Lille. “The way in which the six brothers have played for Leicester and performed, culturally they set the tone in the way they play the game.
“Around that period of time Alesana was the best winger in the world, Manu was coming on the scene and previously you had Henry, Freddie, we know their impact. They have been massive. They played a big part in the success of how Leicester played, and Manu has been a massive part of England since 2011 when he got capped.
“The way he plays, the way he plays on the front foot, then physicality he brings, also the deftness of the touches he brings around the field and in defence, he is a big presence as well so he is a great player for us. I know he is very excited for this weekend. It’s the first time he is playing against Samoa. He and his family are really looking forward to the occasion.
“He has overcome a lot injury-wise. Credit that he has kept going and now he is playing some of his best rugby. It’s a credit to him and the people around him they have been able to get him back to this World Cup and he is loving every minute.
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“When you first come on the scene you take a lot for granted but he and the older guys appreciate much more this stage of our careers, what we are doing and just enjoying every day. Manu enjoys every day and what he brings to the team on and off the field. He is a great guy to have in the squad and to be around. And he makes great coffee too, which is a bonus.”
Asked for insight as to how hard the Tuilagi brothers hit in the tackle, Cole quipped: “Go on YouTube, just type in their names and go watch five-minute clips of them running over people and you will find out what they are about. They have that immense physical presence.
“They are plenty (of Tuilagi tackles) I enjoy, none of them have been on me. Just go on YouTube and enjoy three hours’ worth of content of those guys hitting people and that’s your afternoon done.
“We have seen some highlights this week of Henry and Alesana. We know about the physicality but Alesana, there was one season he was unstoppable, he’d run over people, have the ability to catch, pass, offload and as a decoy runner, Manu is a similar vein. They’re fantastic players and are a fantastic part of why Leicester were successful.”
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Cole finished by assessing the maturation of Manu over the years, from a young buck making the grade at Leicester and England to now being a 30-something at Sale and for his country. “When he first played he was an outstanding talent; he burst onto the scene and was unstoppable.
“As he has got older he has matured and he has definitely embraced that role, especially being more senior. He has got a wealth of experience all over the shop playing in massive games.
“He is very level-headed and brings an appreciation of playing and the day-to-day. He had a period of his life where he wasn’t able to do that day to day, so he brings that enjoyment which we all feed off.”
Scrum coach Tom Harrison added that it still hasn’t been decided who will replace Jack Willis in the England squad ahead of their October 15 quarter-final in Marseille against most likely Fiji.
The back-rower suffered a neck issue in the September 23 pool win over Chile and Steve Borthwick confirmed on Thursday evening that Willis has left the squad and a replacement was needed. “In terms of next steps, there are many meetings going on so there is no update as current,” said Harrison.
Comments on RugbyPass
Just came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to comments