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'Vunipola, if we didn't know the pubs were closed you'd swear he had been in one. He was out of shape'
Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has accused the Saracens players on the beaten England team of not being at the races for the opening round of the Guinness Six Nations, the Australian even going as far as to claim that Billy Vunipola looked at if he had been in the pub and was out of shape.
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Scotland blew the 2021 champions title race wide open with their shock 11-6 round one win over defending champions England at Twickenham, the first time the Scots have won at the HQ of English rugby since 1983.
While ex-coach Williams, who led Scotland to just one win in his ten Six Nations games in charge, stressed he didn’t want to take anything away from the merit of the shock win by his old team, he rounded on the Saracens contingent who made up one-third of the starting England team.
Bar a Trailfinders Cup hit-out for Vunipola three weeks ago at Ealing, the Saracens players didn’t have game time of any kind since England defeated France in the Autumn Nations Cup final 62 days ago.
Williams, who was appearing as a pundit for the match on Irish TV channel Virgin Media One, believed it was a significant factor in deciding the outcome against England, in particular the effort of the sub-par Vunipola. “The Saracens players weren’t at the races,” he said. “Vunipola, if we didn’t know the pubs were closed you’d swear he had been in one. He was out of shape.
Tournament blown wide open! #SixNations2021 pic.twitter.com/jOXnmTmI7e
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 6, 2021
“There was no way he was ready for international rugby. Owen Farrell, one of the best players in the world, was way off the mark. Even the great (Maro) Itoje gave away a lot of penalties. But I don’t want to take anything away from Scotland, they deserve all the credit and it has smashed the tournament wide open.
“Sensational win for Scotland. They were brave. That’s the cliche, but they were smart and they did it for 80 minutes. They overcame a sin-bin. An absolute brain-snap at the end, what were they thinking of taking the drop goal? Who’d be a coach? Poor Gregor (Townsend) must need resuscitation after that.
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“If they hadn’t had won, if England had scrapped that, it would have been a travesty. Scotland were just brilliant in every aspect. They outmuscled England, they outthought England, they attacked Jonny May in the air, their full-back Stuart Hogg was absolutely exceptional.
“And I said their tight five were questionable. Let me take that back, their tight five stood up and were more than a match, dominated England. The statistics out of this game are just mind-boggling.
“In the 69th-minute mark Scotland had made 104 carries, England had only made 38. England made 142 tackles, Scotland 60. There’s a 15-6 penalty count. England gave away 15 penalties. And that was the first time, the 67th minute, England got to the third phase when they had possession. If you had told me that before the game it’s 100/1 you’d believe it. It was just brilliant, a brilliant performance.
“We thought Scotland would come out for 40, 60, but they wouldn’t be able to go toe to toe with the power of England and they have proved us all wrong. Great credit to Gregor, great credit to the team.
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“That young hooker (David) Cherry coming off the bench, a few years ago he was playing second division in France. The opening action he did in his international career was he smashed Maro Itoje. That shouldn’t happen but you have got to give great credit.
“The phantom, ghost stadiums, two away wins in the opening weekend so far and we hope the away team [Ireland] wins tomorrow. I wonder how long has it been since there were three away wins in the opening round of the Six Nations? We’re seeing something different.”
PLAYER RATINGS
How we rated the England players, who were flattered by the scoreline at Twickenham #ENGvSCOhttps://t.co/HtUedgVBwy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 6, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets 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?
10 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.
9 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.
10 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.
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
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.
9 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.
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)
4 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?
5 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.
6 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 comments