Manu Tuilagi is expected to still be eligible for British & Irish Lions selection if he packs his bags and moves overseas.
A scenario considered unthinkable pre-pandemic now appears inevitable after the wrecking ball centre failed to agree amended contract terms with Leicester and was stood down by the cash-strapped club.
Quitting the Premiership would cost Tuilagi his England place as the RFU policy is to only select players from within the English game.
But the Lions have no such restriction, as Leigh Halfpenny found in 2017 when picked for the New Zealand tour despite playing for Toulon.
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