Billy Vunipola: 'I'm definitely staying' but No.8's England future is unclear
Billy Vunipola is staying at Saracens and the No.8 is preparing for playing in the Championship, where he hopes a season in the English second tier will give his body an opportunity to heal.
The 130kg England backrow is not clear, however, about his international prospects when playing in the Championship, having not spoken with anyone within the RFU on the matter.
Speaking to RugbyPass on ‘The Lockdown’ with Jim Hamilton, Vunipola says he can only see positives for Saracens, who were automatically relegated earlier this season for breaches of the salary cap.
“There way I see, it’s part of the journey of the club.
“Some boys have had to try and further their careers, as they are at the start of their careers. I’m kind of in the middle of it.
“Boys are in different situations, and I can understand that. They’ve got families and things to look after.
“From my point of view, I’m just trying to sit still and play it out, see where we end up next year.
“I can’t see a negative in it. I’ve haven’t spoken directly to the powers at the top, when it comes to England or at Sarries, as to what will happen in terms of international recognition but if there’s one positive to take out of it, is I hope that my body will take less of a battering.
“With no disrespect to the Championship, it will give my body a chance to heal. I don’t think they play as many games in the Championship. They don’t have Champions Cup or those big games. You (Jim Hamilton) know what it’s like, they just keep coming.
“I’m excited for next year. I reckon I’ll play as much as I can, try to help the team as much as possible and hopefully we’ll come straight back up.
Asked if he had had his head turned along the way by the lure of Japan, France or even Super Rugby, Vunipola was clear: “No, not really.”
“All the reports coming out, the club have looked after me, and not just me, my family. It’s time for me to dig my heels in and scrap with the boys and hopefully come up next year.
“There lots of examples of clubs going down, like Northampton going down and coming up and doing well, same thing goes for Quins, so, it’s kind of a good point in our journey as a club to reset some of our goals and accelerate.”
“Yes, I’m definitely staying.”
“It was always us against everyone else. That siege mentality, we kind of got stuck into that.
“If I was at another club I would have been annoyed. But I think a lot of things that did come out were exaggerated. Some points were made to seem worse than they were.
“You kind of let people get their feelings out there. I’m glad that none of boys reacted in ways that we would regret. The best way for us to react was try to win as many games as we could.
“When you think about where we are going to be now, players like my little cousin (Manu Vunipola), who’s playing at 10, and players around him, are going to get an opportunity to play against really, really experienced players in the Championship.
“Obviously, as the season goes on you feel it a bit more worn down and last year I got to point with my shoulder where I was hanging on towards the end”
– @Jono__Ross tells @chrisjonespress what it takes on the @premrugby front line with @SaleSharksRugbyhttps://t.co/6YquDrrmfu— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 24, 2020
“We’ll probably get taught a few lessons and it will be good for their progression. In two or three years time these guys will be at the top of their game and the English game. That’s something people haven’t really thought about but that’s something we’ve talked about.
“We’re going to get to a situation where we are going to struggle to keep a hold of good players. As you know, the environment always breeds players that want to reach the top.
“There are no negatives to take out from it. People saying what they want to say, that’s just the way the world is.
“You look at what a person like Maro has done during his career, and you can’t take anything away from him. He’s gone from playing how many games unbeaten to playing for the Lions and proving how good he is.
?BREAKING ? Maro Itoje voted the world's best lock in 2020 by majority decision. Ohhh Maroo Itooooje, ohhhh Maroo Itooooje. ????? #EnglandRugby #Saracens pic.twitter.com/laYxpHy8rS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 24, 2020
“We’ve had a system where we’ve allowed players to be themselves. The end result is we’ve had a few world-class players within the one squad.
Vunipola broke his arm earlier this season, an injury that has plagued him since 2017.
‘My problem was, I probably wasn’t looking after it really well when I first broke my arm. Not listening to medical advice in wearing protective gear around it, so that was on me. But now, with the lockdown and not knowing when the season will start again, has given me time to let it heal and let it get better on its own, rather than me always rushing back for a big game.
“I got into a bad cycle of always getting back quickly. It started in 2017 and 2018. I won’t have to rush back for a big game like Leinster, who we would have had to play in two weeks time.”
Vunipola had surgery on the arm, but says he would have tried to get back for that Leinster game in Europe, had the season still have been going.
“This arm I’ve broken three times but this was a different part of the bone. With the titanium plate in there, it’s so rigid, it’s different to how your bones are, so I just got it caught. Hopefully, I can get back to 100 per cent.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments