Manu Tuilagi believes sleep holds key to staying fit for Sale and England

Manu Tuilagi’s previous ploys to stay injury-free have included going to see a witch doctor, walking the Peak District, and weight loss – but now the England centre has concluded there is no substitute for sleep.

Tuilagi is fit again, in form, and if he was unable to prevent Sale from exiting the Champions Cup at the quarter-final stage for the second consecutive season on Sunday he demonstrated his sharpness with a well-taken try on the stroke of half-time that would have thrilled Eddie Jones.

With the Premiership playoffs a distant prospect for Sale, Tuilagi is likely to have just two more domestic matches this season but, provided there are no further injury problems, he is certain to tour Australia with England for a three-match series Jones’s side cannot afford to lose.

For Tuilagi, it has yet again been a stop-start season blighted by injury with another Six Nations campaign missed and 10 appearances for the Sharks. He is learning to accept the logic in sitting out the odd match – he was rested for Sale’s victory against Newcastle to ensure he was primed to face Racing 92 – but there is fuel in the tank to face the Wallabies and, all going well, serve as a reminder as to why England’s hopes at the World Cup next year largely hinge on his fitness.

During the Six Nations, Tuilagi was due to play against Wales, having recovered from the hamstring injury sustained last autumn against South Africa. He had a setback in training just before that match, however, and having made only two appearances for Sale before being called upon by England the national side faced questions over rushing him back too quickly. Not from Sale it should be said, but Alex Sanderson, the club’s director of rugby, conceded that more dialogue