Why Manu Tuilagi needed his family and love of rugby to drag him through his darkest days

Tuilagi has been named as a replacement for Saturday's Test against South Africa and could make his first England appearance since March 2016

As he prepares for his England return to Twickenham in what will undoubtedly be an emotional moment, Manu Tuilagi has revealed that it was his love of the game, combined with his growing maturity after starting his own family, that dragged him through the dark days of his injury nightmare.

The 27-year-old has been named among the replacements for Saturday’s Test against South Africa, more than two-and-a-half years since his last appearance came as a late substitute in the 2016 Six Nations win over Wales. With no Chris Ashton in the squad, overlooked for Exeter’s Jack Nowell, Tuilagi will likely have to cover centre and wing, but none of that matters for the Leicester Tigers powerhouse who is simply put delighted to be back in the international fold.

“We’re all human beings,” Tuilagi said in Portugal where England have prepared for the Quilter Internationals with an eight-day training camp. “We have our feelings. You can be the strongest person but you always have your doubts.

“If you really love what you do it gets you up. I have a little family now as well with our little girl so life is completely different in a very positive way.”

“I am glad I am here because all the hard work you do is for this – the highest achievement in your field. For me to get picked, to come and train with the best players in the country, is an honour in itself. You play against each other week in week out but you can learn from each other.”

Whenever Tuilagi is thrown into the mix, the Twickenham crowd is likely to rise to its feet to welcome back one of its bright young stars that has seen a number of years robbed from him. Tuilagi will be making only his 27th appearance for England, and to put his injury hell into context, his 25th cap came on the 2014 summer tour of New Zealand.

He has missed a Rugby World Cup, a Lions tour and nearly three complete Six Nations campaigns bar the sole appearance against Wales, but Eddie Jones hopes that this latest return will not be a familiar story.

“I don’t think we should over-hype his entry back in the England side,” Jones said. “It’s been a long time and he’s played a couple of good games for Leicester. He’s in pretty good physical nick, so let’s just take it that he’ll make a difference when he comes on.”

But for many, Tuilagi’s return will see England’s most potent weapon return to the mix, providing he can get back to the 100 per cent that Jones admits he is still a little bit short of. The sight of him running onto the pitch will rekindle memories of him at his wrecking-ball best in years gone by, and not just for those watching him.

“Getting picked for the World Cup in 2011 was a big moment for me, especially at a young age,” he recalls. “It seems a very long time ago but it is still up there.”

But one moment stands out from the rest, unsurprisingly.

“To beat the All Blacks [in 2012] and to beat them the way that we did was very pleasing,” he said. “I remember that time, everyone wrote us off because we’d already lost against South Africa and Australia.

“It was a good team belief. To be able to be still positive – to go out and do the same thing. Because sometimes when you lose you want to change things. That’s going to be with me for the rest of my life.”

The hope is for that 2012 memory not to be his last. Jones has waited three long years to have a fully-firing Tuilagi in his armoury, and if he comes through the autumn in one piece, there will be no doubt about who England’s attack will be based around in Japan next year.