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England fans exasperated by Vunipola's status as the only player to start all four warm-up games

Fans are concerned by Billy Vunipola's over-use (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Billy Vunipola is set to be the only player to start all four of England’s World Cup warm-up Test matches after he was named in the line-up to face Italy this Friday at St James’ Park. 

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The England coaching team have defended their over-reliance on Vunipola, saying the No8 needs to play regularly as he gets better with every game despite fears from fans of fatigue and injury. 

The Saracens star has had his fair share of injury troubles over the past couple of seasons, particularly with his knees and breaking an arm on multiple occasions. 

With England’s World Cup campaign starting less than three weeks, England fans on social media cannot understand why he is still being played. 

Regardless of what Eddie Jones and his coaching team have said, the consensus is that the fans would rather see the 26-year-old rested. 

(Continue reading below…)

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Vunipola is quite possibly England’s most influential player, as he has already proven over the past three games, and it is an unnecessary risk to play him against Italy. 

With Mark Wilson in the starting XV, who deputised for Vunipola last autumn when he was injured, and Matt Kvesic on the bench, fans would rather see one of those two given a chance at the back of the scrum in preparation for the World Cup. 

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Unless Vunipola is expected to play every minute of every game in Japan, this seems like a sensible decision to assess the team in the absence of the bruising forward. This has been the reaction: 

https://twitter.com/A_Cops2/status/1169142975408087040?s=20

https://twitter.com/jk12_34/status/1169148294800531458?s=20

Jones has stuck by this decision to give Vunipola as much game time as possible, and while many people do not agree, that will not be a concern for the coach. 

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Throughout his tenure as the England boss he has backed himself in light of criticism and his decisions have invariably paid off.

This is an instance where the England fans will have to trust that the coaching team know what they are doing in terms of the management of one of their most prized players. 

WATCH: Former England star James Haskell on his deal with mixed martial arts promoters Bellator

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Eliza Galloway 52 minutes ago
Geoff Parling: An Englishman roasting the Lions?

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JW 1 hour ago
James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum

Lol you need to shoot your editor for that headline, even I near skipped the article.


France simply need to go to a league format for the Brennus, that will shave two weekends of pointless knockout rugby from their season and raise the competitions standards and mystique no end.


The under age loophole is also a easy door to shut, just remove the lower age limit. WR simply never envisioned a day were teams would target people under the age of 17 or whatever it is now, but much like with Rassie and his use of subs bench, that day was obviously always going to come. I can’t remember how football does it, I think it’s the other way around with them, you can’t sign anyone younger than that but unions can’t stop 17 or 18 yo’s from leaving for a pro club if they want to. There is a transaction that takes place of a few hundred thousand for a normal average player. I’d prefer rugby to be stricter and just keep the union bodies signoff being required.


What really was their problem with Kite and co leaving though? Do we really need a game dominated by Internationals? I even think WR’s proposed calendar might be a bit too much, with at minimum 12 top tier games being played in the World Championship. I think 10 to 12, maybe any one player playing 10 of those 12 is the best way to think of it, for every international team is max, so that they can allow their domestic comps to shine if they want, and other nations like Japan and Fiji can, even some of the home nations maybe, and fill out their calendar with extra tours if they like them as a way to make money. As it is RA don’t have as good a pathway system, so they could simply buy back those players if they turn good. Are they worried they’ll be less likely to? We wait for baited breath for the new season to be laid out in front of us by WR.

It could impose sanctions on the Fédération Française de Rugby, but the body which runs the Top 14 and the ProD2, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, is entirely independent.

It’s not independent at all. The LNR is a body under, and commissioned by, the FFR (and Government control) to mediate the clubs. FFR can simply install a new club competition if they don’t listen, then you’d see whether the players want to stay at any club who doesn’t tow the line and move to the new competition, as they obviously wouldn’t fall under the auspice of world rugby. They would be rebels, which is fine in and upon itself, but they would isolate themselves from the rest of the game and would need to be OK with that. I have no doubt whatsoever that clubs would have to and want to fall in line to remain part of the EPCR and French rugby. Probably even the last thing they would want is to compete with another French domestic competition that has all the advantages they don’t.


All those players would do good for a few seasons in France, especially the fringe ones, with thankfully zero risk of them being poached if they turn good. New Zealand had a turn at keeping all of it’s talent, and while it upticked the competitiveness of the Super Rugby teams into a total dominance of Australian and South African counterparts (who were suffering more heavily than most the other way at that stage), it didn’t have as positive an effect on the next step up as ensuring young talents development is not hindered does. Essentially NZR flooded the locate market with players but inevitably it didn’t think the local economy could sustain any more pro teams itself, so now we are seeing a normal amount of exodus for the availability of places again. Are Australia in exactly the same footing? I think so, finances where dicey for a while perhaps but I doubt they are putting money constraints on their contracting now. It’s purely about who leaves to open up opportunity.

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