Fred Tuilagi (born 9 June 1997) is a rugby union player for AS Bédarrides, he previously played for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

. Tuilagi is the son of former Leicester and St Helens winger

Freddie Tuilagi Fereti Tuilagi (born 9 June 1971) is a Samoan former professional rugby footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. After playing rugby union at international level, he turned professional and played rugby league for English clubs Halifax Blue Sox and ...

and is the second generation of the Tuilagi family to play professional rugby. He primarily plays at Number 8 but can play at Blindside flanker if required. He is eligible for both England and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

but has played for neither team at any level. He was named in the

squad for the 2024 July International Tests.

Career

Youth

As a youth he played for

Hinckley RFC Hinckley Rugby Club is an English rugby union team based in Hinckley, Leicestershire. The club runs six senior sides, a ladies team and a full set of junior teams. The first XV currently play in National League 2 West, a fourth tier league in th ...

, where his uncle Manu played too, and was a prop originally before being switched to the backrow when he came through the Tigers Academy. His older brother, Brian, was an academy graduate but moved to the Saracens Development team and now plays for

US Dax Union sportive dacquoise, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Nationale, the third level of the French league system. They were founded in 1904. They play at Stade Maurice Boyau (capacity 16,170). They wear ...

. Tuilagi originally played prop before moving to back row in his later teens.

Leicester

He made his senior debut for the Leicester Tigers on 4 November 2016 when he came on as a substitute in the 20-21 victory over

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

at the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

, becoming the 6th Tuilagi to play for the Tigers at senior level following dad Freddie and uncles

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, Anitelea,

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and current Sale, Lions and England centre

Manu Manu may refer to: Geography * Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region **Manú National Park, Peru ** Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Tem ...

. Fred first made prominence after featuring for the Tigers in the 2016 Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Series where he was yellow carded in the 1st minute against Worcester and made his official debut later that year, although that was his single appearance that season, being used in the A League and being loaned to

Coventry R.F.C. Coventry Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club based in Coventry, England. The club enjoyed great success during the 1960s and 70s, with many players representing their countries. Coventry's home ground is the Butts Park Arena, ...

He was on his way out but new head coach Matt O'Connor convinced him to stay, stating that he has the potential to be as devastating as his uncle Henry. After a prominent appearance in preseason, Tuilagi was given his 1st senior start and Welford Road debut against

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...

in the

Anglo-Welsh Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

and went to make a further 3 more appearances in the competition. Ahead of the 2018/19 season, Fred was promoted to the senior squad, joining his uncle Manu. He made 8 appearances so far, all of which were in the

Premiership Rugby Cup The Premiership Rugby Cup is an English rugby union knockout cup competition for teams in Premiership Rugby. It was created in 2018 to replace the Anglo-Welsh Cup after the withdrawal of the Welsh regions. History The Premiership Rugby Cup was ...

. In the Derby Round fixture, Tuilagi scored his first senior try for the club and also provided a try-assist for fly-half Joe Ford in a 47-20 defeat for the Tigers. On 15 May 2019 he was announced as one of the players to leave Leicester following the end of the 2018-19 Premiership Rugby season.

Colorno

On 23 July 2019 Tuilagi was announced as a signing for newly promoted

Rugby Colorno Rugby Colorno is an Italian rugby union club currently competing in the Italian domestic league Top10. They are based in Colorno (Province of Parma), in Emilia-Romagna. They were founded in 1975. History Rugby Colorno was founded in 1975 as an ...

in Italy's Top 12.

London Scottish

In June 2020, London Scottish announced the signing of Tuilagi along with his brother Brian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuilagi, Fred Living people 1997 births Leicester Tigers players Rugby union number eights English rugby union players Coventry R.F.C. players Loughborough Students RUFC players