By Chris Foy for the Daily Mail
Published: 22:35 GMT, 7 February 2019 | Updated: 22:38 GMT, 7 February 2019
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The first time Manu Tuilagi played against France, England were knocked out of the 2011 World Cup and the next day he was in trouble for jumping off a ferry into Auckland Harbour.
It all seems like a surreal memory from a different lifetime. The Leicester centre has grown up. The recklessness of youth has faded with the passing of years, the onset of parenthood and the personal ordeal of so many protracted injuries.
On Sunday, a mellower, wiser Tuilagi will start for England against France, in round two of this Guinness Six Nations campaign. Last weekend’s glorious occasion in Dublin was the 27-year-old’s first championship start since March 2013, after a Test comeback off the bench in November.
A mellower, wiser Manu Tuilagi will start for England against France at Twickenham on Sunday
Asked if he could recall his first encounter with the French, in the World Cup quarter-final at Eden Park which marked the end of Martin Johnson’s tenure as manager, Tuilagi said: ‘Oh yes, I remember. It was a good game. We had most of the ball, we attacked really well, we started really well, especially in the first half — we just didn’t finish off our opportunities. They got to the final in the end, fair play to them.’
The following day, his impromptu dip in the harbour added to the catalogue of controversies which had blighted the campaign around New Zealand.
‘That feels like a long time ago,’ said Tuilagi. ‘As you grow up, you live and you learn. All the things that have happened. You make your bed and you’ve got to lie in it. That’s life. You learn and try to be better as a person.’
