on 6 august 2011, he made his england début in the world cup warm-up match against wales at twickenham on 6 august 2011. he duly started and scored a try in the 44th minute underneath the posts, after an inside pass from jonny wilkinson. he then played in the third warm-up game, a victory over ireland, and scored again. he was a regular starter during the world cup. one of his strongest international performances came in the final match of the 2012 autumn internationals, against the world cup winners new zealand at twickenham. england won 38–21 – their largest ever winning margin over the all blacks. tuilagi featured in all three of england's tries.