Manu Tuilagi ‘will be worried about his big brother’

Leicester Tigers are to ask Manu Tuilagi‘s elder brother Freddie to keep a closer eye on their young star and ensure he remains trouble free.
Manu, 24 tomorrow, has been axed from England‘s World Cup squad by head coach Stuart Lancaster after he was found guilty of assaulting a taxi driver and two women police officers in Leicester city centre.
Freddie Tuilagi, the former Tigers’ wing, has been mainly responsible for his young brother’s pastoral care since he arrived in Britain at the age of 13.  But he was out of the country when Manu was involved in an altercation with a taxi driver at 3am on April 26 that ended with his appearance in court.
Manu lashed out at the taxi’s wing mirror with his foot and had the driver in a stranglehold. When the police officers arrived he pushed them both hard in the chest as they attempted to handcuff him.
He was fined a total of £6,205 in fines, compensation and costs.
Leicester chairman Peter Tom said last night: “Freddie arrived back in the UK yesterday. If I was Manu that’s what I’d be most worried about.”
Simon Cohen, the Tigers chief executive, added:  “Leicester has always looked after its own and closed ranks, and we will be looking to support him. Ninety-nine percent of the time he’s a good lad.
“He’s a young man whose had a couple of drinks, and it’s important to keep that in perspective.
“You can’t take a mad moment on a Saturday night out of context. He’s taken it on the chin. We’re generally not a knee-jerk reaction organisation, and we’ll take into account that he’s been punished by the court, and missing the World Cup is a huge punishment. He’s been desperate to wear the white rose ever since he came here.
“Stuart Lancaster has done what he thinks is right for the England squad, but he’s with us throughout the year so we have a different perspective.
“We don’t condone it in any way, but it has to be kept in perspective, and in our environment he’s generally been very good.”
Cohen added: “I’m pretty sure that if Manu had intended to do someone serious harm, he would have done so.”
Lancaster, who has zero tolerance towards off-field misdemeanours, immediately banned Tuilagi from playing for England until January 2016.
He said: “As role models and ambassadors for the game, the highest standards of behaviour are expected from every England player both on and off the field.”
Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “When I spoke to Manu, the first thing he said was, ‘I was wrong, I will take the punishment’. He has never tried to make excuses.
“He can’t behave like that, we know that. He has been punished by the courts, he has been punished by England.
“He is a young man growing up in the public eye. Young people do stupid things, and he has done a very stupid thing. We all grow up, and you make mistakes, young and old.
“I am not going to excuse him. I can empathise, but I am not going to make light of it. Stuart has made his decision, and I support that.
“Manu does a lot of things for the community and for charity, and if there are 400 kids out there he will stay for two hours and sign autographs.
“He will get fit and he will play for the club again. We need to help him, not just cut him adrift. We need to help him, and so do England, to make sure he comes through this and is a better person for the experience.”
SAM JACKSON