England rugby union centre Manu Tuilagi has apologised for playing a prank on British Prime Minister David Cameron during the British and Irish Lions’ recent visit to Downing Street.
Tuilagi gave Cameron “bunny ears” while standing behind and to the left of the Conservative Party leader as a group of players and management posed for a photo at the function on Monday to honour the Lions’ 2-1 series victory over Australia this year.
The Leicester Tigers centre took to Twitter to express his remorse for the incident.
“Apologies for messing around on Lions photo,” he tweeted.
“No offence intended. Great Day at Downing Street. Thanks to Prime Minister for hosting us.”
It is not the first time Tuilagi has been the centre of controversy.
He was fined STG3,000 ($A5,150) by the Rugby Football Union after he jumped from a ferry during England’s World Cup campaign in New Zealand two years ago.
Tuilagi was cautioned by police on that occasion and disciplined by then England coach Martin Johnson.
Following his latest prank, Tuilagi’s team-mates reacted on social networking site Twitter.
Ben Youngs, a fellow British and Irish Lion, England and Tigers player, tweeted: “The man@Manutuilagi just couldn’t stop himself.”
The halfback later removed the tweet and posted a picture of himself posing outside 10 Downing Street.
Gloucester five-eighth Freddie Burns tweeted: “Great bottle from Manu Tuilagi! Haha. #chief”.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
It was one of the most incredible moments in Australian sporting history, a moment that gripped the minds of millions of Australians and millions…
They made hard work of it, but Les Kiss’ Queensland Reds did enough to overturn a 10-point deficit and seal a 26-22 win over…
After his sixth try in three games this season, Tim Ryan is absolutely flyin'. His mates went off the rails post-game of the Reds'…
Nick Jooste left a mark on Josh Flook after some brutal shots in the Reds' 26-22 win over the Rebels.
The Reds erased a 15-5 half-time deficit but the Rebels still had a chance to snatch the win in the final minute.
The Rebels hooker had to come off at a crucial point of the game and when he returned the Reds had hit the lead.
