Manu Tuilagi says he has 'found the secret' to ending injury woes and may stay in France

Manu Tuilagi told Daily Mail Sport that he has “found the secret” to ending long-term injury problems and suggested he may remain in France after joining Top 14 club Bayonne.

In his first in-depth interview since crossing the Channel, the 34-year-old former England centre described a new routine that includes taking his son to a weekly Saturday session in the village of Ondres, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, and helping volunteer coaches. “My boy is playing for a team in the village,” Tuilagi said. “I sometimes take him down for his rugby session and I’ll end up helping the coaches. The matches are at 10am — it’s basically my warm-up for my game! It’s great for me to see my kids playing and I want to help the coaches because they give up so much of their time volunteering. Those people are the lifeblood of the game.”

Tuilagi, who won 60 caps for England before leaving to join Bayonne after roughly 15 years in English rugby, said he has taken up part-time coaching with children but stressed that the move to France is not a signal that he is winding down his career. He described involvement in the local rugby community as part of his recovery and preparation while integrating into life on the Atlantic coast.

Sunday and Saturday junior matches in Ondres, a seaside village, provide a regular sight for Tuilagi and his family, and he credited the grassroots volunteers for sustaining the sport at community level. He framed those weekly sessions as both a personal anchor and a way to give back to the game.

Tuilagi’s comments come amid a wider trend of international players joining the French Top 14, which has attracted talent with lucrative contracts and a different season structure than some other leagues. The move to Bayonne gave Tuilagi a fresh environment after injury-affected seasons, and he indicated the changes he has made in France have helped address the recurring fitness issues that dogged his earlier career.

Club officials and supporters have cited Tuilagi’s experience and physical presence as important additions to Bayonne’s midfield options. While he did not detail the specific methods he said resolved his injury problems, he emphasized routine, community support and the value of volunteering coaches as contributors to his current state of readiness.

Tuilagi’s decision to live and work in the small Nouvelle-Aquitaine community reflects a broader pattern of established internationals embedding in local rugby cultures after moving clubs. He remains an experienced figure in the sport, and his remarks in the interview underline a combination of on-field ambition and off-field engagement with youth coaching and community rugby.

The former Leicester Tigers and England player’s future plans beyond his Bayonne contract were not laid out in detail in the interview. He did, however, signal a contentment with life in France that may influence whether he returns to play in England or remains based on the French coast for the foreseeable future.