We can take teams to a place where they're not comfortable - Vunipola
Billy Vunipola has urged England to stay humble as expectations over their World Cup prospects heightened with Saturday’s 57-15 rout of Ireland at Twickenham.
Eight tries were engineered against a team also considered title contenders for this autumn’s global showpiece in a statement performance that was tainted only by the recurrence of Mako Vunipola’s hamstring injury.
A greatest winning margin and highest scoreline were posted against Ireland in the third of four warm-up Tests and, while the summer serves as the phoney war ahead of the main event in Japan, England will have sent a shiver through their rivals.
Billy Vunipola is wary of the acclaim that will accompany the outcome of their Twickenham send-off, however.
“The biggest thing is for us to stay humble. Now everyone is going to pump up our tyres because we did well this week, but it was only last week that everyone was hammering us,” the Saracens number eight said.
“The biggest danger is the other side of the coin. We need to keep our feet firmly on the ground and keep working.
“At the moment we’re in a good place but I don’t think a good place can win you a World Cup and we want to keep improving.
“We didn’t let up. There were times that we could have taken our foot off the accelerator, but this showed we can take teams to a place where they’re not comfortable.
“We’re pretty happy with it but satisfied is probably the wrong term, we always want to improve. There’s parts of our game that probably let us down.”
Manu Tuilagi was unstoppable and Joe Cokanasiga helped himself to two tries, but it was the pack who really carried the fight to opponents who missed the opportunity to claim first place in the world rankings.
And Ireland’s surrender was secured not only by the power of England’s forwards, but also as a result of their willingness to prolong moves through their crisp handling.
“We’re always trying to add things to our game and having props that can play with the ball in hand,” Vunipola said.
“It was only last year that (Ireland prop) Tadhg Furlong was leading in terms of that facet of the game, so we’re learning off other people as much as each other.
“It was awesome to see Kyle Sinckler put someone through a hole. I’m not sure about the celebrations but it was great to watch!
“The key there is to make defences think. When you start doing things really well, teams will start analysing it and start waiting for it, almost anticipating it.
“We are not trying to give too much away but to see Tom Curry’s try was pretty awesome.
“Three forwards setting up a try between us was great to see and it is something we have been working on.”
While Billy Vunipola is thriving on the back of three starts in a row, placing distance behind him and a torrid spell of injuries, his elder brother Mako faces an anxious wait for news on his hamstring problem.
The world-class Lions prop underwent surgery at the end of last season and was making his comeback as a second-half replacement against Ireland before it was aborted shortly before the end.
“I talked to Mako but he hasn’t given me too much. All I’ve got is ‘yeah, I feel all right, I’m okay’,” Vunipola said.
“If I wasn’t his brother he’d probably tell me more but because I’m his little brother, he’s trying to be the tough guy. We’re just here to support him and hopefully fingers crossed he’s okay.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
6 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
2 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
6 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
2 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
5 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
5 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
5 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
5 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
6 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
2 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to comments