Latest news with #Tuilagi
1News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- 1News
Broncos forward escapes sanction for tackle that injured Metcalf
Brisbane Broncos forward Brendan Piakura has escaped sanction for the shot that injured Luke Metcalf's knee and threw the Warriors star's season into doubt. Piakura went on report in the second half of Brisbane's 26-12 win on Saturday for hitting Metcalf after he had passed the ball. The 26-year-old was unable to continue and will go for scans on Monday once the team is back in Auckland. Warriors coach Andrew Webster said medical staff could not rule out an anterior cruciate ligament tear for Metcalf, who has an extensive injury history. Webster said Metcalf would not play the Warriors' next game on July 13 and would be joined on the sidelines by fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who also went down with a knee issue against the Broncos. ADVERTISEMENT On Sunday morning, the match review committee opted against charging Piakura altogether for the late hit. Metcalf is in the midst of a breakout year and had been leading the Dally M Medal race when voting went behind closed doors after round 12. Any long-term injury for the halfback would be a big blow to their hopes of a top-four finish, and would blow the Dally M race wide open. The Warriors have lost their past two games but face only one more top-four side, Canterbury, on the run home. Te Maire Martin appears the likeliest candidate to join Chanel Harris-Tavita in the halves to face Wests Tigers in a fortnight, but Tanah Boyd is an option for a club debut. Elsewhere, Parramatta second-rower Kelma Tuilagi has been offered a three-game ban for a crusher tackle that enraged future Eels teammate Jack de Belin. A fracas erupted when Tuilagi bent St George Illawarra forward de Belin awkwardly in a tackle during the Dragons' 34-20 win in Wollongong on Saturday night. ADVERTISEMENT Tuilagi will miss upcoming games against Penrith, Canberra and Brisbane with an early guilty plea, in another blow to a Parramatta side already without Mitch Moses. He risks missing a fourth game, against Melbourne, by challenging the charge. Tuilagi is set to become the third Eels player sidelined through suspension, with hooker Ryley Smith and centre Will Penisini offered big bans after last week's win over Gold Coast. Parramatta prop Jack Williams can accept a $1000 fine for his high shot on Dragons forward Emre Guler.
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
The next Manu Tuilagi could be Sale centre Rekeiti Ma'asi-White
There was no white smoke involved, but in Manu Tuilagi's farewell press conference as a Sale player last June, he made sure to anoint Rekeiti Ma'asi-White as his long-term successor in the Sharks midfield. 'He's so exciting, man,' Tuilagi said. 'Do you see him train? He's good. Real good. The thing for Riki is that he has got a big future but he is good now. He is ready to go. He has got the size and skills. I can't wait to see him get that opportunity.' It has taken a while for that opportunity to come. A hamstring niggle delayed the 22-year-old's development this season, while the signing of Waisea Nayacalevu meant Ma'asi-White had to drop into the Championship for game time through a loan spell at Caldy. Now, however, having broken into the first team as Sale come to the business end of the season, Ma'asi-White is showing precisely why the usually taciturn Tuilagi was so effusive in his praise. 'Anything that Manu says is special, especially when he honours you,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He has left some big shoes to fill.' While far from exact replicas – the Sale man is giving away the best part of 1st 7lb (10kg) – there are obvious similarities, from the Pacific Island DNA to the gain-line breaking ability. So it comes as no surprise that Ma'asi-White modelled much of his game on Tuilagi. 'I think I have similar strengths to Manu, having watched him growing up – ball-carrying, running threat and hammer D [defence] – I think I hit people pretty well,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Offloading as well comes with the game when it needs to be. I am not looking to force it all the time.' Rekeiti Ma'asi-White is a joy to watch in full flow 😱 Watch live on @rugbyontnt 📺 #GallagherPrem | #NEWvSAL — Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 21, 2025 As much as the offloads and sidesteps are lovely added extras, the one message that Tuilagi left with Ma'asi-White, who joined Sale in 2022 following Wasps' demise, was that it was his job to get over the gain line. 'That's pretty much it,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Get your head down and carry. As complicated as rugby can be, sometimes you just need to get your head down and carry hard, especially when things go to s---. 'I did a lot of my reviews with Manu and the main thing I learnt was probably the simple things – work on things you are good at as well as the work-ons. Focus on your strengths, but also little things make a big difference. Whether it will be spacing or talking to the 10 and 13, Fordy [George Ford] and Rob [du Preez], just a small chat. It will not be the big things. It is never really that complicated. Once you know your role, it is about the detail.' Just four points separate Sale Sharks and Doncaster Knights at the break! Rekeiti Ma'asi-White's try gave the home side the early lead ⤵️ #PremRugbyCup #SALvDON #SaleSharks — Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 7, 2025 Aside from Tuilagi, the main influence on Ma'asi-White has been his father, Vili Ma'asi, who played 36 times as a prop for Tonga. He also earned cult hero status at London Welsh, Cornish Pirates and Ampthill, where he played well into his 40s and is the club where Rekeiti started. While Rekeiti and his brothers were born and raised in England, their father administered his own brand of tough Tongan love as they grew up. 'We had a rowing machine in the back garden and he would abuse us on that, properly abuse us,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Crazy, crazy sets to the point where your brain can't function any more. It translated to when we were playing well for our junior clubs and the other parents were saying these kids are huge. It is not just genetics, he has made us work for it. He would do it all with us, 10km row was his favourite, but eventually he wore it out. That was the happiest day of my life when I heard it was broken.' The rowing machine may be no more but Vili is still there to dish out the instructions at the AJ Bell Stadium. 'My dad is very big on work rate and getting my hands on the ball,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He notices everything. He will tell you from the crowd. Every game I hear it: 'Get up, get up, Run harder, run harder'. After the game, the feedback is usually constructive. But no matter what I do, whether I play well or poorly, he gives me a hug.'
Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White: Centre that could be England's next Manu Tuilagi
There was no white smoke involved but in his farewell press conference as a Sale player last June, Manu Tuilagi made sure to anoint Rekeiti Ma'asi-White as his long-term successor in the Sharks midfield. 'He's so exciting, man,' Tuilagi said. 'Do you see him train? He's good. Real good. The thing for Riki is that he has got a big future but he is good now. He is ready to go. He has got the size and skills. I can't wait to see him get that opportunity.' It has taken a while for that opportunity to come. A hamstring niggle delayed the 22-year-old's development this season while the signing of Waisea Nayacalevu meant Ma'asi-White had to drop into the Championship for game time through a loan spell at Caldy. Now, however, having broken into the first team as Sale come to the business end of the season, Ma'asi-White is showing precisely why the usually taciturn Tuilagi was so effusive in his praise. 'Anything that Manu says is special, especially when he honours you,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He has left some big shoes to fill.' While far from exact replicas – not least the best part of 10kg in size – there are obvious similarities, from the Pacific Island DNA to the gain line breaking ability. So it comes as no surprise that Ma'asi-White modelled much of his game on Tuilagi. 'I think I have similar strengths to Manu, having watched him growing up – ball carrying, running threat and hammer D [defence] – I think I hit people pretty well,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Offloading as well comes with the game when it needs to be. I am not looking to force it all the time.' Rekeiti Ma'asi-White is a joy to watch in full flow 😱 Watch live on @rugbyontnt 📺 #GallagherPrem | #NEWvSAL — Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 21, 2025 As much as the offloads and sidesteps are lovely added extras, the one message that Tuilagi left with Ma'asi-White, who joined Sale in 2022 following Wasps' demise, was that it was his job to get over the gain line. 'That's pretty much it,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Get your head down and carry. As complicated as rugby can be, sometimes you just need to get your head down and carry hard, especially when things go to s---. 'I did a lot of my reviews with Manu and the main thing I learnt was probably the simple things – work on things you are good at as well as the work-ons. Focus on your strengths, but also little things make a big difference. Whether it will be spacing or talking to the 10 and 13, Fordy [George Ford] and Rob [Du Preez], just a small chat. It will not be the big things. It is never really that complicated. Once you know your role, it is about the detail.' Just four points separate Sale Sharks and Doncaster Knights at the break! Rekeiti Ma'asi-White's try gave the home side the early lead ⤵️ #PremRugbyCup #SALvDON #SaleSharks — Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 7, 2025 Aside from Tuilagi, the main influence on Ma'asi-White has been his father, Vili Ma'asi, who played 36 times as a prop for Tonga. He also earned cult hero status at London Welsh, Cornish Pirates and Ampthill, where he played well into his 40s and the club with whom Rekeiti started. While Rekeiti and his brothers were born and raised in England, their father administered his own brand of tough Tongan love as they grew up. 'We had a rowing machine in the back garden and he would abuse us on that, properly abuse us,' Ma'asi-White said. 'Crazy, crazy sets to the point where your brain can't function any more. It translated to when we were playing well for our junior clubs and the other parents were saying these kids are huge. It is not just genetics, he has made us work for it. He would do it all with us, 10km row was his favourite, but eventually he wore it out. That was the happiest day of my life when I heard it was broken.' The rowing machine may be no more but Vili is still there to dish out the instructions at the AJ Bell Stadium. 'My dad is very big on work rate and getting my hands on the ball,' Ma'asi-White said. 'He notices everything. He will tell you from the crowd. Every game I hear it: 'Get up, get up, Run harder, run harder.' After the game, the feedback is usually constructive. But no matter what I do, whether I play well or poorly, he gives me a hug.'
Telegraph
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Manu Tuilagi is back to his best in France
Casting an eye down the Top-14 table, and it starts off in regulation fashion. Toulouse top – obviously – Bordeaux hot on their heels and Toulon, the club from the Côte d'Azur hoping to reimagine their galactico glory years, in third. But, then, in the strangest of Top-14 seasons, where only eight points separate sixth from 12th, something strange happens. The name of Bayonne appears. Not Clermont, La Rochelle, Racing 92, Stade Français or any other French aristocrat; but Bayonne, the town in the French Basque Country, seven kilometres inland from local rivals Biarritz, with its population of just over 50,000. Three years ago, Bayonne were in the Pro D2, scrapping it out in France's second tier, one of the most gruelling domestic leagues in world rugby. Now, these Basque underdogs sit comfortably fourth – five points clear of fifth and nine ahead of the nearest play-off chasers. There are only six matches of the regular season to play, before the play-offs. In many ways, the club's upstart, above-their-means campaign is a perfect encapsulation of the craziness of French rugby. Bayonne have not lost once at home in either the Top 14 or Challenge Cup this season – with both Toulouse and Bordeaux already having come a cropper at the Stade Jean-Dauger – but it is not just form on their own patch which has resulted in a surge up the table. Other, significant forces are at play, too. Bayonne's recruitment, which will be bolstered further next season by the arrival of Laurent Travers from Racing 92 as director of rugby, has been savvy – and no one embodies that more than the former England centre, Manu Tuilagi. When the Basque club announced that Tuilagi would be leaving Sale Sharks at the end of last season to ply his trade in south-west France, the announcement was met with a degree of suspicion. Everyone knew that Tuilagi, the centre with over 60 caps for England and another for the Lions, on his day had been one of the world's pre-eminent midfield technicians. But everyone knew how prone he had been to injury, too. That sentiment was echoed by Midi Olympique, the respected French rugby newspaper, who said the following in January when naming Tuilagi as one of the Top-14 signings of the season so far. 'When Bayonne signed Tuilagi, there were as many questions as there was fanfare,' it wrote. 'Which player had the Basques just recruited? The star of the 2010s, the English midfield bomb who made centres tremble the world over? Or the more discreet, often injured player who went through the last few Premiership campaigns with a certain anonymity.' After just six matches, the newspaper concluded firmly that Bayonne had landed on the former – and they were right to. After missing a few early matches due to injury, the 33-year-old has managed 15 straight league games in total for Bayonne this season, appearing 16 times for the French club. The most club matches, ignoring the Premiership Rugby Cup, Tuilagi has ever managed in a season is 21 for Leicester in 2012/13, the year the Tigers won the English league and the year in which the Samoan-born centre featured heavily on a victorious Lions tour. Tuilagi is already set to breeze past that tally this season but should Bayonne, as expected, reach the play-offs and even beyond, the veteran centre could come close to his career best 33 matches in a season, again in 2012/13, when he also played eight times for England and four for the Lions. French medics have worked wonders In short, Bayonne's medics and their strength-and-conditioning staff have played a blinder, with Tuilagi on course to feature in the second or third-most matches in one season of his career. His involvement has not been bit-part, either; he has started at 12 in all but one of those 16 appearances for the Basque side this season, with Tuilagi already having played more minutes than in the 2023/24 season, when he also played five matches for England at the World Cup. Sources in Bayonne have told Telegraph Sport how much of an impact Tuilagi has had this season. Perhaps not eye-catching and worthy of highlight reels, but composed, serene and solid. 'He has had a superb season so far,' said one Bayonne season-ticket holder. Should he continue and other big ball-carrying centres like Sione Tuipulotu and Bundee Aki lose either form or fitness, Andy Farrell could do far worse than select Tuilagi for a second jaunt with the Lions. Farrell is already going to be without Ollie Lawrence in the selection debate. It is a long shot, and the selection of other France-based Home Nations players for the famous invitational side's trip Down Under would be far more likely. But this has been an unpredictable French season, with Bayonne at the helm. Nothing, for either its team or its players, should be ruled out.
