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'Manu will be out for a period of time... we're just not sure how long that will be'

By Online Editors
Leicester boss Geordan Murphy celebrates with Manu Tuilagi after their victory at Newcastle Falcons last Friday (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Leicester have confirmed injury-prone Manu Tuilagi is set for another stint on the sidelines – but the Premiership strugglers aren’t quite yet sure how long they will be without their rampaging midfielder.

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The 27-year-old, who last month shunned a money-spinning offer from Racing 92, has started Tigers’ last three league matches following his return from Six Nations duty with England.

His appearance in the vital win over Newcastle last Friday was his 17th of the season, his highest rate of availability since the 2012/13 season when he appeared on 21 occasions.

However, Tuilagi limped away from the Kingston Park nail-biter after 71 minutes with an injury that has left coach Geordan Murphy uncertain if he will feature in the remainder of a battle against relegation that has three fixtures to go.

“We haven’t had a conclusive report on his hamstring yet, but Manu definitely did something to it so he will be out for a period of time. We’re just not sure how long that will be,” said Murphy to the Leicester Mercury at the club’s week’s media conference.

“He has had hamstring injuries before so we are hoping we can speed that up and he will feature for us before the end of the season, but he probably won’t be in contention in the next couple of weeks.”

With Tuilagi set for the sidelines, that would mean adjusting the Tigers midfield once again for their April 27 match against Bristol.

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According to the Mercury, Murphy added that centre Kyle Eastmond is “touch and go” for the Bristol game as he continues to recover from his own hamstring problem, while there is a possibility of Matt Toomua returning to inside centre if South African full-back Clayton Blommetjies, recently arrived from Scarlets, is available.

“Clayton has been training with us for a couple of weeks but he is ill at the moment. We will see where he is in relation to his illness and fitness.

“But we have that versatility with Matt Toomua. He is a 12 and he has done us a favour the last couple of weeks in playing 15, but he would prefer to play 12.

“He has done a really good job for us at full-back and did particularly well at Newcastle on the fast, hard track and got us out of trouble on quite a few occasions.”

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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