Manu Tuilagi insists England will continue to laugh in the face of adversity after reacting to their latest disciplinary crisis by delivering one of the nation’s great acts of defiance on a rugby field.
Argentina were routed 27-10 in a pivotal World Cup opener despite England playing all but three minutes of the Stade Velodrome clash with 14 men because of Tom Curry’s red card for a dangerous tackle.
Curry’s disciplinary hearing takes place on Tuesday night when he will learn how much of the group campaign he is to miss, with fixtures against Japan, Chile and Samoa to come.
England have now had four players sent off in six Tests – each of them for dangerous tackles – and an indicator of their regularity was seen in Tuilagi’s response when his Sale team-mate was given his marching orders.
“To be honest I was sort of smiling and laughing because we’ve had a tough preparation,” said centre Tuilagi, who packed down in the scrum in Curry’s absence.
“We’ve had a lot of challenges that life has thrown towards us. But just because we’ve had a lot of challenges it doesn’t mean they are going to stop. That’s life and you’ve just got to find a way to deal with it.
“Tomorrow’s going to be different – a new day, a new challenge. So we’ve talked about the belief and the trust that you’ve got to have in each other.
“Our preparation wasn’t the best, but we worked so hard to get here so it’s time to just go out there and enjoy our rugby, not think about the past and the future.”
At the heart of a victory that places England in control of Pool D was George Ford, the fly-half who wielded the knife as the abject Pumas were subjected to death by a thousand cuts.
Ford landed three drop-goals and six penalties, as well as delivering a tactical masterclass, while around him the likes of Courtney Lawes, Ben Earl and Maro Itoje outfought Argentina even while Curry watched from the stands.
Tuilagi marvels at “our kid” Ford, another Sale colleague who is helping put Manchester back on the rugby map.
“George is unbelievable. He’s a player who has been there and done it all. We look to him in tough times and he stepped up against Argentina,” Tuilagi said.
“He deserves everything he’s got because he’s worked so hard to get back and play well.
“He’s a mastermind. He lives and breathes rugby. And he loves it. Having the love of what you do means you enjoy it. It wasn’t perfect but that’s life, it can never be perfect.”
England are mindful of remaining clear-eyed about a stirring win founded on resilience and smart rugby, but also notable for the impotency of the attack.
The humidity made the ball slippery but that failed to account for the failure to convert a five-on-two overlap in the second half.
For now, however, England will celebrate an important win secured despite an abysmal warm-up campaign and which builds momentum ahead of Sunday’s clash with Japan in Lille.
“This definitely makes working on things a bit better. When we go back to the drawing board on Monday, it’s better to learn on a win than from losing,” Tuilagi said.
Archer included in England's T20 World Cup squad
Jofra Archer has been recalled to England’s provisional squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States this June.
The 29-year-old, who has not played competitive cricket since May due to a long-term elbow injury, could make his first appearance for the international team since a tour of Bangladesh in March 2023.
Archer has been limited to just 15 T20Is since his England debut in 2019 and missed their 2022 World Cup success in Australia due to the same injury.
There is a recall for fellow fast-bowler Chris Jordan, who last played for England against New Zealand in September 2023, at the expense of Chris Woakes.
Uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, Tom Hartley, is also named in Jos Buttler’s 15-man squad, which includes nine players from the 2022 World Cup.
England will play a four-match T20 series against Pakistan at Headingley in May before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence against Scotland in Barbados on 4 June.
England’s provisional squad:
Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, To Hartley, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingston, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Mark Wood.
England and Saracens number eight Vunipola fined after arrest in Mallorca
England international Billy Vunipola has confirmed he has been fined after an incident which saw him arrested in Mallorca on Sunday, with his club Saracens set to launch an internal investigation.
On Monday, widespread reports claimed Vunipola had been tasered by Spanish police in the early hours of Sunday morning, with an altercation taking place after he left a club in Palma.
Saracens later confirmed they were aware of an incident and said they would deal with it internally.
The number eight, who was born in Australia but has represented England 75 times, later released a statement of his own via his club, denying that any violence took place and confirming the police investigation was now closed.
"I can confirm I was involved in an unfortunate misunderstanding when I was leaving a club in Mallorca on Sunday, which got out of hand," that statement read.
"Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else.
"I was charged with resisting the law and, following an 'express trial', I have paid a fine of €240. The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today.
"I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved."
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
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