A present from Manu Tuilagi still stumps the banned Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus years later.
“Do you think Manu Tuilagi will read this interview?” Erasmus asked journalist Nik Simon during his exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.
“After that match, Joe Marler sent me a bottle of wine. That was lekker because me and Joe Marler are the same kind of guy. We are not suit-and-tie guys.
“But Manu Tuilagi gave our team manager a teddy bear and asked them to pass it on to me.
“I still don’t know why. If he was calling me a cry baby, that’s funny, he got me. If he was taking the p***, I like that. If it was sincere and it was meant for my daughters, that’s kind. I would love to know.”
Manu Tuilagi facts:
- Etuale Manusamoa ‘Manu’ Tuilagi is named after the Samoa national rugby team
- He is the younger brother of Freddie, Henry, Alesana, Anitelea and Sanele Vavae Tuilagi, all of whom are Samoan internationals and also played for Leiceste
- In June 2010, Tuilagi faced possible deportation from the UK after it became known that he had entered the country on a holiday visa six years earlier
- During the 2011 World Cup, he was fined £4,800 after wearing a sponsored mouthguard, breaking the tournament’s rules
- He became England’s youngest RWC player at 20 years and 115 days against Argentina, being 15 days younger than Jonny Wilkinson, who set the record in 1999
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Premiership’s highest paid player each season from 1998 to 2022
1997-1998: Va’aiga Tuigamala (Newcastle Falcons) – £80,000 per season
Embed from Getty Images1999-2000: Francois Pienaar (Saracens) – £85,000 per season
Embed from Getty Images2000-2001: Jason Robinson (Sale Sharks) – £180,000 per season
Embed from Getty Images