Mako Vunipola opens up on Joe Marler's latest England absence
Mako Vunipola has given his support to fellow England prop Joe Marler who has pulled out of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations championship for family reasons, raising serious concerns over his international future. The 30-year-old Marler, who has won 72 caps, previously opted out of England’s tour to Australia in 2016 and retired from international rugby in 2018.
He then made himself available for the 2019 World Cup in Japan and opened up about his mental health struggles in his recently published autobiography. It is reported that his wife is expecting their fourth child and he issued a social media statement saying he wanted to “do right by my family” when it emerged on Monday that he was opting out of the 28-strong England squad chosen last Friday by Eddie Jones.
Vunipola understands the pressures involved. The prop has two young children while brother Billy has recently become a father for the first time. Both players are now heading into the England bubble for eight weeks.
“It’s a tough one not being able to give your all when you are player of Joe Marler’s calibre,” said England loosehead Vunipola to RugbyPass. “It would be very hard to have him come in and be thinking and battling two things. It would be very tough for him to give his best.
“That is just me speaking from my experiences and we are aware of the impact on the country with people struggling to make ends meet, being home alone and being locked up in your house. It’s difficult for their mental health.
If the players are left feeling mentally drained or physically unsafe, should the competition really be going ahead at all? ? https://t.co/NC1mXG5CpP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 26, 2021
“You don’t take being able to play for England for granted and it is a privilege in these difficult times. Going into the bubble is something you have to get your head around and you do make sacrifices to get to this level of playing for England and it’s not easy.
“The older I have got – and having a young family of my own – I completely understand because when I was younger the older guys would come into the England camp and be struggling, not physically but mentally being away from family for such a long time.
“We all understand the risks and protocols around coronavirus that have to be upheld. For me, to come back from the Autumn Nations Cup and have time to fully recover has been unbelievable.
“Having been away in a bubble and then getting time to come down and unwind after a long campaign was very beneficial in terms of my mental recovery. Having children of my own gives me a perspective, and Billy has a little boy now.
“He is having to change a little bit but in terms of him maturing – that is a work in progress! We are both lucky to have our partners and family helping out.”
An achilles injury will mean Vunipola is unavailable for the opening England game with Scotland on February 6, but the 30-year-old believes his extended rehabilitation since pulling out of the Autumn Nations Cup final with France in December has him close to being given the all-clear to play in the Six Nations.
Vunipola has not played since November 28 when England beat Wales and while Billy did play for Saracens in their recent Trailfinders Cup loss at Ealing, club colleagues Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Elliot Daly will have gone 62 days without any sort of a match by the time they take on Scotland due to Saracens’ relegation from the Gallagher Premiership.
Vunipola isn’t worried, claiming the break from his perspective has been positive. “I had an achilles issue before the France game and this is the longest time I have been out. There has been wear and tear following a calf injury which meant the achilles was taking more of a load.
Jones picked a five-strong contingent of Saracens players – Farrell, Elliot Daly, Jamie George, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola – in his squad of 28 England players. https://t.co/i4DcYHOp5c
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 23, 2021
“I have now been able to let the achilles calm down and I wouldn’t have been playing for England or Saracens during this recovery time. Now I’m on the brink of being back and I’m going into the bubble with England to continue the rehab.
“In terms of would I prefer to play or train? To be honest I would rather play because training is not really my cup of tea and the older I have got the more I understand what my body needs to be able to perform.
“In the last couple of years I have had to come off long injuries and then play games – I know what I need to be to help the team. No matter how tired you are you just give your all in the game.
“It has been difficult watching teams playing in the Premiership and Europe because you do want to be involved in those games, but we know the reality of the situation we are in at Saracens and fully accept it.
“The way the young guys come into England they really push us and it hits you on the training field where you are wondering how you are going to keep up with these athletes.”
The England prop has explained his latest England withdrawal. https://t.co/STEmhkQ1OM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 25, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments