Billy Vunipola reveals the brutal plan England executed to beat the All Blacks
Billy Vunipola has revealed that England wanted to “shock” the All Blacks in the opening 20 minutes of their unforgettable World Cup semi-final performance.
Centre Manu Tuilagi set the tone with a try after just 97 seconds, and then it was virtually mistake-free rugby during an opening half when England hit new heights under head coach Eddie Jones.
New Zealand ultimately fell to a first World Cup defeat since 2007, ending a run of 18 successive tournament victories as England stormed home 19-7.
“The challenge was either you try to do it to them, or they will do it to you,” England number eight Vunipola said.
“We tried to do that from the get-go, and we did that. It was about trying to shock them.
“Maro (Itoje) and everyone else has said it that we wanted to shock them in the first 20 minutes because that is when they begin their process of wearing teams down.
“We did not want to be one of those teams who were worn down. I thought we did really well from the opening minute.
“They are not the number one team in the world for no reason. They don’t give you easy points. You have to work for everything.
England have concerns over key personnel in Owen Farrell, Jonny May, Anthony Watson and prop Kyle Sinckler.https://t.co/mLk83zOcnO
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“You have to play in the right area, and I thought our generals were amazing at putting us in the right places and giving us the opportunity to get our breath back.
“Once they have got the ball they will go from anywhere. They are extremely accurate with their skills, and obviously a lot of teams try to base themselves off what they do.
“Like Eddie said when he first came in, we just want to be England. If that means that we are not as good-looking as them, then so be it. We are different. We play our own brand of rugby.
“A lot of people were doubting us because of all the games that we lost to New Zealand. We got written off, and we just wanted to come out and put in a good performance.
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“At the start of the week, Eddie wanted us to rewrite history. We have gone one step towards doing that, and we have another game next week.”
England will contest their fourth World Cup final in Yokohama next Saturday and target a second victory following the Jonny Wilkinson-inspired success of 16 years ago.
“It’s awesome (to be in the final). We want to try to win it – that’s our mindset,” Vunipola added.
Vunipola, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill forged a formidable England back-row unit, and all three can now set their sights on challenging for rugby union’s biggest prize.
Curry said: “You have to take the occasion in and not let it pass you by, but control is massive to our game and we have to make sure we deliver that again.
“We don’t want to do a disservice to ourselves because of the occasion. The World Cup is such a fast-moving pace that we have to shift our focus quickly.
“Was there a point when I thought we had them (New Zealand)? Yes, at 80 minutes. When the whistle went, we got them – we had to stay focused for the entire game.
“You can get ahead of yourself, but one of the great things about this team is that it is down to earth. You have to enjoy occasions like this because they don’t come around that often, but we are very good at focusing on the next task.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
5 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
27 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
3 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
3 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
27 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
20 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to commentsI wouldn't pay a cent for that loafer. He just stands around, waiting for play to come his way. He won't make the Wallabies.
3 Go to commentsGood bit of te reo maori Nic. Or is that Niko or Nikora? On the theme of trees the Oaks v Totara. Game plan would be key. I have one but it would cost you.
27 Go to comments> Shaun Edwards’ You should not have to score 30 points to win a game, as exciting as it is. This statement was surprising to me. It is nonsensical .I guess it is a defence coach speaking. But head coach, defence and attacking coaches all work together. They are inseparable. You score more than the opposition to win. It only needs to be one score. You score whatever the game demands, whatever the opposition demand. You defend whatever it takes. The attack coach needs to be able to clock up 30pts if need be.
27 Go to comments