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Mako Vunipola has paid Vincent Koch the ultimate compliment
Mako Vunipola has labelled Vincent Koch the best tighthead in the world when he is on his game, as was the case last Saturday in Dublin when Saracens dismantled the Leinster scrum.
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The Irish side had come into the Champions Cup quarter-final on the back of a 25-match winning streak, but they failed to absorb the pressure Saracens applied at the set-piece and the penalty count of 7-1 at the scrum was a massive factor in tipping the result the way of the London club.
Vunipola will now scrum down again with Koch as Saracens look to see off Racing in this Saturday’s semi-final in Paris and keep the defending champions on course to win their fourth European trophy in five seasons.
“The old notion is tighthead is probably the most important player in the team and it’s no different (now), the performance he [Koch] gave at the weekend, not only in the scrum but around the park,” said Vunipola at a semi-final media conference.
“When Vincent is in that kind of mood and going at teams I honestly feel there is no one better in the world than him. He knows that and he knows that he has got the backing of the people around him. When he is able to be confident to go out there and do his thing, it’s a happy day for us.”
? "The confidence we’ve got from that (Leinster) game is great and I think it’s a challenge we’re all looking forward to." ?@duncantaylor3 & @vincentkoch1 reflect on the feeling of winning in Dublin & look ahead to the tough encounter against Racing 92 ?#TogetherSaracens pic.twitter.com/RHBwL292Ha
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) September 25, 2020
Having taken great satisfaction in how the power battle at the scrum went in Ireland, Vunipola now hopes a similar platform can be laid in France to help get Saracens though to next month’s final on October 17. “You talk about head to head battles and winning those, it’s probably the only facet you can say head to head, taking on your opposite man in the scrum.
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“You understand how massive that is to impose yourself as a pack, how much energy it gives, not only to you as the team and it takes away from the opposition… it made my job easier (in Dublin), I didn’t have to do much running. That was probably the best thing about it.”
England and Lions international Vunipola is a bit of a rugby nerd, admitting he regularly delves into his trove of video to watch old games in his leisure time to remember how he felt about them.
It’s not just the wins, such as the 2016 final victory over Racing, that he will settle down to. The losses can be equally informative. “I watch games we have played in the past more just for my enjoyment than anything really. You watch to remember being in the game. It’s not just the games that we win either, there are losses that I watch to remember to what I felt that day.
“Sometimes I think back to that game (in 2016) and I have watched it back a lot as well. You watch and think how did we get away with playing like that. It was just the enjoyment, people were just appreciating each other… people were emotional. Saturday is a chance for us to go and make another memory.”
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With just two more Premiership games remaining before their automatic relegation to the Championship, Saracens won’t be able to participate again in the Champions Cup until 2022/23 at the earliest. That prospect is added incentive for Vunipola and co to finish out this campaign on a high and leave everyone remembering them as one of the European greats.
“This is our last opportunity to win silverware – not just this year but for a while,” said Vunpila. “The Champions Cup is dear to us because we have had a few heartaches in it, but we have also had the delight of winning it… we just want to out there and make memories.
“I remember after we lost the Premiership and European finals in 2014, we spoke about wanting to be in the same league as Munster, Leinster and Toulouse, dynasties really. When people talk about the Champions Cup, those are the sort of teams people think of as the best in Europe and we wanted to be in that conversation.
“We knew we had to cross that big hurdle of winning it for the first time, but when we did that (in 2016) we wanted to go back… and it’s no different this time. We want to go out there and enjoy this moment with the people around us because we don’t know when we might get this chance again.”
You'd need an XV of people to help Maro carry this wedge to the bank ?https://t.co/RtemlR17at
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 24, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“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.
22 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
3 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.
2 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 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)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments