Lions tours can be cruel like that.Â
The England centre impressed against the gratuitously weakened Western Force in Perth and then, when it would really have counted, lasted 19 minutes against Queensland. He has now been out for two and a half weeks.
Unless you are Tommy Bowe or Jamie Roberts, this is more than anyone can afford on a tour that, though the longest in rugby, is still grossly compressed compared to the days in the Fifties, when Clem Thomas could have his appendix out and have ample time to rejoin the tour.
So Tuilagi’s appearance at the delightful Melbourne Rectangular Stadium could be his last Lions hurrah until New Zealand in 2017.
“It’s quite a relief finally to get back up and playing rugby,†he said.
“Watching the boys play, all you can do is show your support. But this is an important opportunity for me – and all the others who didn’t play in the first Test – to show we should be considered too.
“After the Queensland game I couldn’t really move my arm. I’ve had a few stinger-type injuries before, but never one as bad as this and it’s taken a lot of rehab work to get it right even as quickly as we’ve managed.
“There was a time when I worried that I’d have to go home but, if that had happened, it would have been the most disappointing thing in my career. The Lions don’t come round often and, when they do, you have to take the chance. Thank God the shoulder has healed up so fast.â€
Tuilagi, 23, could at least play himself on to the bench for the Melbourne Test, though that will still depend on whether Jamie Roberts’ recovery from his hamstring injury against New South Wales can be accelerated as George North’s was so efficaciously.
As it stands, Bowe will be fit, while Roberts remains doubtful. Otherwise the Lions have fallen into a “siege mentalityâ€, according to forward coach Graham Rowntree, after the injuries to Paul O’Connell and Alex Corbisiero that have taken the shine off the victory in the first Test.
Manu Tuilagi out to ensure it"s not his last hurrah
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