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Billy Vunipola's first impression of his new life at Montpellier

Billy Vunipola reacts after his final appearance for Saracens last May (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Former England international Billy Vunipola has given a first impression of his new life in Montpellier. The 31-year-old, who was at Saracens from 2013 to 2024, has quit the Gallagher Premiership for the Top 14 for the next few years and after beginning pre-season on July 17, he has now shared his thoughts on his first couple of weeks in the south of France. 

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Speaking at his first media briefing since joining the club that finished 13th in the 2023/24 Top 14, Vunipola insisted his move across the Channel was about the business of winning and not money. 

“It’s a new life choice, a new club, but I didn’t come to collect my salary, I want to give the best for this club,” said the Rugby World Cup 2019 finalist in a report published by L’Equipe

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Steve Borthwick impressed by young England side in tight All Blacks loss | Steinlager Series

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Steve Borthwick impressed by young England side in tight All Blacks loss | Steinlager Series

“I met Bernard (Laporte, the director of rugby), the president (Mohed) Altrad last week and I understood their expectations. They want the club to be at the top. I want to help them in this project and get back into shape.

“It is weird to start a season away from Saracens. I spent a lot of years there, won titles (five English Championships and three European Cups) but I felt it was the right time to move on. 

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“It wasn’t an easy choice to leave England. I knew I would no longer be eligible for selection, there is the language barrier, a new life far from the comfort of Saracens to which I had become accustomed, a new culture but once I made the decision, I was very happy and I got fully involved.

“It’s hot, so hot. I have never experienced a preparation in such heat. My wife and son think we are just here for the summer holidays but I can assure them that it’s anything but a holiday,” he chuckled. 

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Highlighted in Vunipola’s calendar for the season ahead is the October 6 Montpellier versus Vannes fixture, the game where he could pack down against older brother Mako as he has also made the switch from the Premiership to Top 14.

“We already faced each other once when I played for Wasps (2011-2013) and the following week, I signed for Saracens. It’s going to be a great time, provided we win!”

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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