Tuilagi handed a puncher's chance for England spot

Manu, youngest of six rugby brothers from Samoa, is making an imposing case to clinch a World Cup place, writes Chris Hewett

Manu Tuilagi shows off his epic tattoo that he had done on a recent visit to Samoa (Getty)

Manu Tuilagi may be new to international rugby – he makes his Test debut, for his adopted England rather than his native Samoa, at Twickenham tomorrow – but there is nothing mysterious about the way he goes about his work. "I spent most of my time in France last season but I saw bits and pieces of him on the television, and anyway, I'd played enough games against members of his family to get the general idea," said Jonny Wilkinson yesterday on being asked whether the murderous physicality of England's new outside centre had taken him by surprise. The great goalkicker could not help wincing, even so.

Tuilagi wears his 20-year-old heart on his sleeve: that much was obvious when he took profound exception to a gentle pat on the head and decked his fellow red-rose back Chris Ashton during last season's Premiership semi-final between Leicester and Northampton. Equally dramatically, he wears his South Seas heritage on his right arm, which is decorated with an elaborate tattoo that starts at the shoulder and ends a short distance above the wrist. "I went back to Samoa for three weeks just recently, my first trip back for six years, and as there was a master of the tattoo there at the same time, I thought I might as well get it done," he said.

The rugby cognoscenti have been watching various Tuilagis – Fereti and Henry, Alesana and Anitelea and Vavae – for years now, and have reached the conclusion that if there is a First Family of the union code, the six brothers from Fatausi-Fogapoa, a sparsely populated lava-field village on the island of Savai'i, have earned the right to the title. Many in the England camp expect Manu, the 16st 7lb baby of the sextet, to emerge as the best of them.

This time last year, he was fighting deportation: the Home Office was on his case for visa irregularities and did not back off until three MPs from Midlands constituencies intervened on the midfielder's behalf. His subsequent fight with Ashton – a one-sided bout, to be sure – cost him a five-week ban and an appearance in the Premiership final. He has had little to say about either affair, although he did reveal yesterday that he had sought the wisdom of his brothers after the unfortunate entanglement with his fellow World Cup training squad member.

"They are always happy to give me advice and I always take in what they tell me," he remarked. "They just said: 'Keep playing rugby.'"

According to the England manager, Martin Johnson, there's still plenty of South Seas aggression in the newcomer's approach. "Manu likes to come out of the line and hit people," he said with a wolfish grin. "There's a little bit of Samoa about his defence." Tuilagi agrees wholeheartedly, describing the all-over body assault as patented by such honoured countrymen as Brian "The Chiropractor" Lima as "good fun".

Yet he sees himself as English, not Samoan: "I've done all my schooling here, I played for England in the Under-16s, the Under-18s, the Under-20s. And there has been no negativity at all from the people back home. They are proud of what I'm achieving here. For me to carry on the name of a small country like Samoa in a big country like England is special. This is my chance to show everyone what I can do."