Leicester vs Northampton: 'World-class' Manu Tuilagi's return has delighted Tigers roaring

Tuilagi played for 25 minutes in Leicester’s 30-27 defeat of Saints

Manu Tuilagi played for 25 minutes in Leicester’s 30-27 defeat of Saints (Getty)

Aura in sport is not a myth created by its chroniclers; every player from the park pitch to the elite knows the reassurance and lift when they look to the corner of the dressing room and see one of their team’s main men pulling on his shirt and lacing up his boots.

The mighty roar let out by the Leicester crowd when they heard the name of Manu Tuilagi unexpectedly announced in the 23-man line-up for Saturday’s 30-27 win over Northampton was echoed later in the warm words of the England centre’s team-mates, after Tuilagi’s re-emergence during the second half from 15 months of agony waiting for a groin injury to heal.

Tom Youngs captained Leicester from the front row as they rattled up three tries in 23 minutes for a 21-0 lead but they eventually needed a last-ditch penalty from Freddie Burns to quell their local rivals’ stirring comeback.

Youngs and Tuilagi played 10 Tests together for England – including the dismantling of the All Blacks at Twickenham in December 2012 – and the Lions before the Samoan-born colossus succumbed to a chronic case of a muscle torn from a pelvic bone in October 2014.

“It is a relief for the squad,” said Youngs, who at 28 is four years Tuilagi’s elder. “Manu is a world-class player and when someone has been out for a long time we always forget how good they are until they start playing again. But as much as it is great for us to see him, it is just wonderful to see him back and enjoying himself.

“He was nervous before this game because he was always questioning, ‘Can I still do it, can I do that?’ He will be a lot better for getting through the 25 minutes he had, which was brilliant.”

Tuilagi was dropped from England’s World Cup preparations last summer by the then head coach, Stuart Lancaster, after a conviction for assault, but the injury would not have healed before the tournament anyway.

Eddie Jones was at Welford Road to see Tuilagi launch his reappearance with a flying tackle on Courtney Lawes and a couple of forceful runs and offloads. Jones will now consult Leicester’s Richard Cockerill over the 26-cap midfielder’s next steps.

Most Test teams favour a hefty presence in one of the centre positions but time is short for Tuilagi to make the Six Nations Championship – Leicester have two European matches, against Treviso and Stade Français, before Jones gathers his England squad on 23 January.

“Manu got through today and we will see how he goes next week, and go from there,” said Youngs. “He went through a bad stage when he thought the injury was getting better and it would get sore again, and that is pretty disheartening when it strikes you right back to the beginning. He is an experienced guy and he knows we are all behind him and we are all there for him.”

Leicester had their Welsh fly-half Owen Williams taken to hospital with a suspected broken jaw, and the tight-head prop Dan Cole went to the sin bin for the second week running for interfering in a ruck shortly before Northampton’s soft third try, scored in the 66th minute by Leicester old boy Jamie Gibson direct from an uncontested line-out.

Northampton’s England flanker Tom Wood survived a nasty twist to the ankle on his comeback after six weeks out with a shoulder problem. Saints’ England hooker Dylan Hartley did not appear at all after damaging his ribs against Exeter the previous week, which left the starting hookers Youngs and Mike Haywood to revel in the limelight, alongside Saints’ rumbustious England Under-20 prop Paul Hill.