Manu Tuilagi beating up Chris Ashton becomes most famous rugby punch-up ever
Manu Tuilagi's savage beating of Chris Ashton is arguably the most famous rugby punch-up in history.
The dust-up is one of the most-watched rugby confrontations of all time. On YouTube alone, it has over 2.5 million views, and with the emergence of TikTok in recent times, it has garnered a further three million views.
The moment involves a 20-year-old Tuilagi clothes-lining Ashton off the ball, with the former Northampton Saints star reacting and shoving the then Leicester Tigers man in the back of his head.
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Retaliating in emphatic fashion, Tuilagi landed three huge blows to Ashton, connecting with immense power on the third fist. Remarkably, Ashton stayed upright the entire time. And perhaps even more remarkably, the officials decided to yellow card both players for violent conduct.
The commentary team at the time said Ashton had an "injustice done to him", labelling it as "disgraceful", "rubbish" and "terrible" from the touch judge to suggest to referee Wayne Barnes that both players threw punches. Tuilagi was later handed a five-match ban, missing the Premiership final against Saracens.
In a lie detector test with TNT Sports presenter Craig Doyle last year, Tuilagi was asked whether he would ever get into the ring with Ashton for charity. The England centre said no, and the lie detector confirmed his answer as truth. The same applied to the next question, when he answered 'yes' when asked whether Ashton would beat him in a boxing match.
Ashton appeared as a guest on Tom Aspinall's 'Fight Lab' in October, and the UFC heavyweight praised the rugby winger's ability to stay on his feet throughout the ordeal. Watch the analysis below.
Speaking on The Rugby Pod, former Tigers CEO Simon Cohen explained that one player even berated Tuilagi's punching technique in the changing rooms after the game.
"I went into the dressing room immediately afterwards to hear Julian White berating Manu for not punching properly - apparently he was on his tip toes or something." explained Cohen.
"He was in the air, no power," responded Hamilton.
"No power, yes," smiled Cohen.
