Jonny be good: Manu Tuilagi out to flatten England great and nice guy Wilkinson

Jonny be good: Manu Tuilagi out to flatten England great and nice guy Wilkinson




“You don’t go out there looking for one man, but if you get an opportunity for a big hit, it can turn a game," he explained




 In charge: Manu Tuilagi wants to stop Wilkinson dominating with his boot
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By Tony Roche

Manu Tuilagi is ­looking forward to ­meeting up again with Jonny Wilkinson — and flattening him.

Leicester go to Toulon today for a Heineken Cup quarter-final Tuilagi ­believes will be decided by his team’s discipline or the boot of Wilkinson.

Tuilagi said: “When I first got in the E­ngland squad, Jonny shook hands and said ‘jolly nice to meet you’.

“He’s a really nice guy, but that won’t ­influence me if I get him in my sights. If you get the ­opportunity to tackle him you’ve got to take it.

“You don’t go out there looking for one man, but if you get an opportunity for a big hit, it can turn a game.”


Target man: Toulon fly-half Jonny Wilkinson will be facing a stiff challenge or two
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Centre Tuilagi insists discipline is the key to Leicester’s hopes. He added: “Our discipline at Northampton last week was pretty good, better than the week before.

“With Jonny there, you know he’ll punish every penalty you concede, and before you know it the scoreboard is your enemy.

“When I was training with England, I learned accuracy and ­repetition from Jonny. He is very focused and he’ll take every available point.

Toulon start firm favourites, but Tuilagi believes that takes the pressure off Leicester.

He said: “Outside our club, nobody expects us to win. So all the pressure is on Jonny and Toulon, with their array of star names.

“French fans demand their teams win home games, so we can relax and play our rugby.

“We have class and ­experience as well.”