Cockerill: Tuilagi not Test ready yet
Tuilagi had missed Leicester's last three matches with a hamstring strain and has not played for England since June 2014, having previously been sidelined with a groin injury for 15 months.
He was also banned for six months last year, after pleading guilty to assaulting two police officers.
Jones is hoping to involve Tuilagi in England's showdown with Wales on March 12 and will have been encouraged by the impact he made at Twickenham Stoop. It took the 24-year-old's power to help Leicester score their only try, rampaging forward to place Quins on the retreat until Harry Thacker arrived to touch down.
His evening was not without setback, however, after he lost the ball in a tackle in 75th minute to help Marland Yarde run in a try that sealed Quins' victory.
Jones was sat among supporters in the stands, wearing his customary black beanie hat and will discuss the player's fitness with club director of rugby Richard Cockerill. He plans to select Tuilagi at inside centre, claiming he can emulate All Blacks great Ma'a Nonu and this encounter was only the fifth time he has started in that position.
"Manu got through the game and did some good things and made some errors as well, but everybody makes errors. Let's hope Manu can stay on the field and we can keep him playing. Manu played his first game here for a few weeks, so we'll see where that leads to.
"He's not ready to play at Test level yet. He's played one game and still isn't quite sharp. He did some things but needs to be managed properly. Me and Eddie can have that discussion. If he's fit, he can play. If he's not then he won't. We'll be sensible about it," Cockerill said.
Leicester endured a torrid evening in the scrum, conceding four penalties, and also saw debutant Jean de Villiers leave the pitch late on with what appeared to be an injury to his nose. The defeat sees them replaced by Quins in third place on the table, but a late Freddie Burns penalty at least rescued a losing bonus point.
Quins lost flyhalf Nick Evans to a broken leg earlier this week but Ben Botica proved an able deputy with 20 points.
Agence France-Presse
