Manu Tuilagi has vowed to put his ferry-jumping days behind him and send Wales plummeting to defeat at Twickenham next week. Having scored a try on his Test debut against the Welsh last August, he is hoping for "more of the same this time" if he earns a return to the national side for the first time since the World Cup in New Zealand.

The 'Manu Overboard' headlines following his ill-advised plunge into Auckland Harbour appear to have taught the Leicester centre a valuable lesson. "I feel I've learned a lot and with that experience I've grown up as a person as well as a player. I didn't realise before how much attention and scrutiny you get as an England rugby player. I realise it now and I realise I've got to make better decisions in future."

Tuilagi will now stake his claim for a Test recall for the Tigers against Saracens this Sunday, having recovered from a serious facial injury which required the insertion of a titanium plate to hold his eye-socket together.

"I broke my cheekbone and eye socket in a collision with Gloucester's Scott Lawson. They had to put a plate in because the bone was shattered ... there was nothing there. It has been frustrating but now I definitely feel fit and ready to play."