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Manu Tuilagi: Fighting Ashton, Auckland ferry jump, scariest brother
By Liam Heagney
Sale and England midfielder Manu Tuilagi has named which of his brothers he finds the scariest and answered if he would take on Chris Ashton in a charity boxing match. He has also revisited his infamous jump into the water at Auckland harbour during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
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Ahead of this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership final versus Saracens at Twickenham, the recently turned 32-year-old took a BT Sport lie detector test in the company of presenter Craig Doyle and what unfolded was insightful.
Aside from answering juvenile questions such as if he ever cupped one of his farts in his hands and smelt it, does he wee in the shower at Sale and does he flex in the mirror, Tuilagi also answered more serious topics such as which sibling most frightens him.
“That would be Henry. He is massive. He has always been big, but he is big now, he has not played for a while.”
Tuilagi added that he would never beat any of his brothers in a fight before going on to admit that he would never step into the ring either with Ashton. It was May 2011 when the pair infamously clashed on the Welford Road pitch, the then 20-year-old Tuilagi winding up with a five-week ban that meant he missed that year’s Premiership final at Twickenham.
Asked if for the right price for a charity of his choice would he get into the ring with Ashton, Tuilagi replied no. He was then asked if he thought Ashton would beat him in a boxing match. “Yeah. They [Tuilagi’s biceps] are just for show.”
Doyle also quizzed Tuilagi about his other infamous 2011 incident, his leap into the sea in New Zealand when the passenger ferry he was on was nearing the terminal in Auckland. It resulted in him getting fined. Asked if he jumped off the boat as a dare, Tuilagi said: ‘Yeah.’ Who dared him was the follow-up question. “Well, I dared me. I was lucky it was only about 100 metres to swim, maybe less.”
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Tuilagi went on to admit that he monitors the number of likes his Instagram posts receive, that he has googled himself, and that he has lied to a coach about his weight.
- BT Sport is the home of the Gallagher Premiership Final. Watch Saracens vs Sale Sharks live and exclusively on BT Sport 1 from 2pm on Saturday, May 27 btsport.com/rugby
