Sackey prepares for collision with Samoan wrecking-ball
Tuilagi spearheaded Leicester’s 44-16 rout of Gloucester last Saturday with a destructive display of running that helped the Tigers complete the second leg of an unprecedented treble.
The rampaging Samoan winger, who weighs 19 stones, scored two tries and caused havoc whenever he touched the ball in what proved a traumatising Guinness Premiership final for Gloucester.
Sackey has been given the job of shackling Tuilagi in what appears an almighty mismatch given he concedes nearly five stones to his opponent.
But the England back has been doing extra defensive work all week, knocking down Wasps’ biggest players such as Simon Shaw and Lawrence Dallaglio in the hope it will ready him for the eagerly-awaited European showdown.
And while he admits his preparations are no substitute for the real thing, he is determined to bring down his man by any means possible.
“I’m going to stop Tuilagi by tackling him. Rugby is a simple game — you make your tackles and you do your job,” he said.
“This week I’ve done extra tackling practice on the bigger guys so that I’m ready for Tuilagi.
“My only objective is to get him on the floor. That’s all you can do. Technique doesn’t really come into it.
“You just have to do what you can, whether that means jumping on his back or taking his legs out — as long as he’s on the floor.”
Sackey’s week may have been dominated by plans to halt Tuilagi but the 27-year-old stresses he will not be running out at Twickenham with the sole ambition of defending.
An elusive runner who slips through gaps rather than steamrollering opponents, Sackey has scored 15 tries in 18 games this season and is joint highest try-scorer in the Heineken Cup.
“For me this game isn’t just about defending. We want to get the ball and I want to have a run at them,” he said.
“Everyone is going on about Leicester and their wingers but if we do our job we’ve got every chance of spoiling their party because we have some dangerous players in the backs too.”
Meanwhile Leicester head coach Pat Howard is convinced the clash could propel England towards a successful World Cup defence.
England boss Brian Ashton will be watching from South Africa as over half his potential World Cup squad lock horns in the first ever all-English final.
It is a spectacle being billed as the biggest club match of all time and a world record 83,000 fans will squeeze inside the newly-expanded Twickenham.
Ashton’s desire to play expansive, ambitious rugby is often at odds with the attritional style seen each weekend through the gruelling Guinness Premiership campaign.
Howard urged the England coaching staff to base their World Cup plans on the success enjoyed this year by Leicester, Wasps and European Challenge Cup finalists Bath.
Howard said: “I like Brian and I know John Wells very well but I really think they should use the success the English clubs are having and adapt to what their players are good at and not necessarily try and impose the style and technique Brian likes.
“My philosophy in rugby is that I don’t come in with a set game plan. We match a game plan to the players we’ve got.”
Sunday’s game will be Howard’s last at Leicester before he returns with his young family to Brisbane and draws a line under an astonishing career in the sport. At least for now.
Howard played 20 Tests for Australia, won the 2001 Heineken Cup as a player with Leicester and now, as a coach, stands on the brink of an unprecedented trophy treble.
Howard recalled Daryl Gibson to the Tigers midfield for Sunday’s game after the former All Black recovered from a knee injury sustained in the semi-final win over Llanelli Scarlets.
Gibson replaces Ollie Smith in the midfield but otherwise Leicester are unchanged from the side that overpowered Gloucester in last weekend’s Premiership final.
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