Henry Tuilagi has made a real impact in the back row since joining his elder brother Fereti when at Leicester. He made 24 first team appearances in his first season, scoring a try on his debut in the opening game against London Irish, and has since consolidated his position both in the team and as a favourite of the fans. His 2004/05 season was cruelly cut short, however, when he suffered a broken leg in the final home Premiership match against London Wasps in April.
Henry previously played for Italian club Parma, where his younger brother Alesana had joined him for a season. He appeared for Parma against London Wasps at High Wycombe in the first round of the European Challenge Cup, and then at Caerphilly in the quarter final of the same competition in January 2003. The No.8 was first included in the Samoa squad for the 2000 Pacific Rim Championship, but had to wait another two years for his test debut against Fiji in Apia, Samoa in June 2002.
Both Fereti and Alesana joined him in the international team later in the month when all three brothers played together in the World Cup qualifier against Fiji at Nadi. Henry now has four international caps, but due to injury missed out on further honours last summer; he was also capped for Samoa at Rugby League in 1999.
Henry Tuilagi returns to the Tigers 22 as head coach Pat Howard makes four changes to his starting line-up for this Saturday's clash with Bath Rugby at Welford Road, kick-off 2.45pm.
Tigers injury update. With Tigers travelling to France to face Bourgoin in the Heineken Cup on Friday evening, we take a look at the players unavailable for selection…
