Rebel Tuilagi could miss South Africa tour after tip tackle citing
CONTROVERSIAL England centre Manu Tuilagi faces being banned from the summer tour to South Africa after he was yesterday cited for an alleged tip tackle in the Premiership final.
Leicester powerhouse Tuilagi is accused of executing the illegal manoeuvre on international colleague Danny Care during Harlequins’ title-winning triumph in the Twickenham showpiece on Saturday. The 21-year-old will discover his fate at a hearing this evening, with a guilty verdict carrying a minimum suspension of three weeks. England depart for a three-Test series against the Springboks tomorrow.
Tuilagi earned notoriety for jumping from a ferry in Auckland harbour last year, an incident that followed and typified an embarrassing World Cup for England in New Zealand.
The Samoa-born player was fined £3,000 for that leap, on top of £4,800 for wearing a branded mouthguard during the tournament. A year ago he was banned for 10 weeks for punching Northampton and England wing Chris Ashton during a Premiership semi-final.