Manu Tuilagi

British and Irish Lions and England star Manu Tuilagi joined Sale Sharks from Leicester Tigers during the 2019/20 season.

The powerhouse is an England regular, and has amassed 43 caps since his international debut in 2011, including a starring role in the 2019 World Cup.

He also appeared for the British and Irish Lions during the 2013 tour to Australia.

Manu began his rugby career in the Leicester Tigers academy, following in his older brother Anitelea’s (Andy’s) footsteps. Andy also played three seasons for the Sharks between 2008 and 2011.

He made the switch to the North West on an initial one year deal but in September 2020 a serious achilles injury in just his eighth game for the Sharks ruled the Samoa-born centre out for eight months.

Manu returned from the injury in May 2021 and was named in the updated England squad for their 2021 summer tests against the USA and Canada. Unfortunately a hamstring strain meant he had to withdraw due to the injury.

On his return from injury in May 2021, Alex Sanderson told the Guardian: “Manu’s in great shape ... he looks massive. I had to stop him running because he was just running through the lads in the live tackling. It’s really exciting to see. He looked scary out there, scarily powerful.”