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Billy Vunipola's recent 'not a pleasant experience' England ordeal
By Liam Heagney
England have laid bare what suspension has painfully meant for Billy Vunipola on the training ground in recent weeks. It was August 19 when the No8 was red carded and a three-match ban – since reduced to two following his successful completion of tackle school – resulted in quite an exhaustive training ordeal.
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With last Saturday’s 27-10 Rugby World Cup win over Argentina the second of the two games Vunipola was unavailable for, he is now clear for selection in next Sunday’s fixture against Japan in Nice.
His prospects of inclusion have been enhanced by Tom Curry receiving a three-game ban (reducible to two via tackle school) for his third-minute red card against the Pumas, creating the potential for the deputising No8 Ben Earl to now switch to openside.
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In the meantime, England have revealed how punishing the past few weeks have been for Vunipola. “Unfortunately for Billy, he has been handed over to Aled Walters, which was not a pleasant experience for him,” explained assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth.
“There is a group of lads that will pick up extra conditioning, lads who didn’t get many minutes or who didn’t play. Unfortunately for Billy that has been him every time for the last few weeks, so Aled has been working him hard and he looks good to go.”
"Let's get some noise up…"
– England trained Tuesday in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage minus skipper Courtney Lawes and Tom Curry… but George Kruis surprisingly turned up? #ENGvJPN #EnglandRugby #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/cWtDvfBhuM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 12, 2023
Vunipola’s red card was the second of the three reds brandished at England in the past four games. What can the No8 provide to them if included against the Japanese? “What Billy does is he has got great physical presence and it’s great to have him back on the training field,” added Wiglesworth.
“He is a really smart rugby player as well, puts himself in great positions, has got great hands so he has got more threat than just being a big ball carrier. He is really smart and knows when to shift it and when to give it and change the point of contact for other players. Great for us to have him available.”
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