Manu Tuilagi’s injury woes continue - He’ll miss Australia tour

‘Bad luck’: England and Leicester centre sits out next month’s tour with hamstring injury

Leicester Tigers’ Manu Tuilagi watches after going off injured during the Aviva Premiership Semi Final at Allianz Park, London. Photograph: PA
Leicester Tigers’ Manu Tuilagi watches after going off injured during the Aviva Premiership Semi Final at Allianz Park, London. Photograph: PA

Manu Tuilagi will miss England's tour to Australia next month with a hamstring problem, the Rugby Football Union has announced.

Tuilagi sustained the injury in Leicester’s Aviva Premiership semi-final defeat at Saracens on Saturday and, following a scan, has been ruled out of the three-Test series against the Wallabies.

A replacement will be named after Sunday’s pre-tour Test against Wales at Twickenham.

"It's bad luck for Manu so close to the tour, but it provides a great opportunity for someone else. We wish Manu all the best and a quick recovery," head coach Eddie Jones said.

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Jones has warned Australia to be prepared for an “enormous scrap” when the teams clash next month. “We want to be the top team in the world... therefore, if we go to Australia, we should expect to win the series,” the 56-year-old told British media. “It would be a failure if we don’t win the series.”

Australia were convincing 33-13 winners against England in last year's Rugby World Cup, and Jones urged his players to fight harder to ensure a different result this time around. "It's got to be an enormous scrap," he said. "We're going to be in their face, physical, unrelenting, don't give them a moment."

England go into the tour after winning the Six Nations grand slam for the first time since 2003 under Jones, but the former Wallabies coach is wary of threats posed by the southern hemisphere side. "(Australia) are just much better with the ball," he added. "They're going to put more questions to our defence than teams did in the Six Nations and try and play with an intensity and pace that isn't common in the northern hemisphere."