Sale and England to meet after Six Nations to discuss Manu Tuilagi management

Sale are to meet with England after the Guinness Six Nations to discuss a way forward for the management of Manu Tuilagi in the wake of his latest injury breakdown.

The prospect of Tuilagi facing Ireland at Twickenham on March 12 is remote as he recovers from the minor hamstring strain that forced him to withdraw from the team against Wales just hours after being selected by Eddie Jones.

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson believes the powerful 30-year-old centre could figure in the climax to the Six Nations at the Stade de France a week later, but once the competition is over he wants a joined-up approach to be agreed with England in the hope of avoiding any more setbacks.

Tuilagi’s career has been interrupted by long spells in the treatment room and he has yet to feature in this Six Nations having initially recovered from the torn hamstring sustained against South Africa during the autumn.

Sanderson’s concern is not over England’s handling of Tuilagi – club and country are in close contact over his loading – but over ensuring the long-term availability of their prized asset.

“It was probably just a little bit too far, a little bit too soon. We’ve spoken to Eddie and liaised with England’s physios and S&C staff,” Sanderson said.

“We’re all on the same page and we need to catch up post-Six Nations to understand how we can potentially manage it better.

“But we’re struggling to see how we can at the moment, apart from it being too much too soon.

“You can look and delve into things and go down rabbit holes, but sometimes you can see ghosts which aren’t actually there. It’s important to understand that.

“The reason why we want to sit down together is over concern for the player. It’s not over grey areas. I just want us to