Billy Vunipola has to give England and Steve Borthwick a big performance when he returns from his suspension. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
There is a case to be made that Billy Vunipola is the most important player in determining the fate of England.
Statistics show that when he shoots, England shoots. His best years in terms of scoring coincided with England's most successful recent years, in 2016 and 2017 when they started their 18-match unbeaten streak, and in 2019 when they reached the World Cup final. No other English striker promises to come forward that will give strength to the whole team, which is why Steve Borthwick chose him as his only number 8 specialist in his team at the World Cup. This was a significant demonstration of Borthwick's faith in the 30-year-old for several reasons.
As Vunipola himself told Telegraph Sport, the couple had an unfortunate episode at a training camp in Treviso in warm weather in 2019. Borthwick declined to select him for his first Six Nations team due to his poor form at the 2022 Fall International. . Vunipola also underwent surgery due to a knee injury he suffered in April. Only a vacillating Conservative Party home secretary could survive a larger vote of confidence. So, to say the least, it is unfortunate that Vunipola followed the example of his captain Owen Farrell and received a suspension for a red card that would make it impossible for him to participate in the final setup against Fiji and in the first World Cup match against Argentina.
Borthwick lost his entire 8-9-10 axis in England's biggest pool match ever, and an ankle injury to scrum half Jack van Portvliet ruled him out of the tournament. Like Farrell, Vunipola's suspension, which could be reduced from three games to two after attending tackle school, is short enough to allow him to stay on the lineup, with the Saracens' Tom Willis becoming the next taxi driver to drop out of the lineup. But make no mistake, Vunipole will have to repay Borthwick several times over. Like a hissing generator, Vunipola struggles to achieve the same power he once had.
Admittedly, two games against Wales and a trip to Dublin to play Ireland represent a limited sample size, but Vunipola's 20 per cent success rate is by far the lowest of his career. In 2016, he crossed the winning line for two out of every three carries at 67 percent, but that figure has steadily declined. His average for carries to the winline (2.1), tackles (6.4) and dominant tackles (0) are also the lowest of his career. It is no coincidence that England's offense suffered because their main ball carrier provided so few quick balls. Some of this was to be expected. Vunipola is a player who needs playing time to regain his strength, especially after a four-month hiatus.
Vunipola can revive England if she reopens the old fire
But given Borthwick's raucous praise that Vunipola was «the strongest I've ever seen», it's disappointing that the Saracens looked on their feet in last week's 29-10 defeat to Ireland. His red-card offense, a strike against Andrew Porter's foothold, was driven more by weariness than malice. So now Vunipola needs to pick up the pace for himself and England by starting from the spot in the pool stages. It is unfair to expect #8 to single-handedly put his team ahead, just as it would be wrong to attribute the success of the fight to an exceptionally hard footing. However, there is no escaping that #8 remains the focus of the team and they are expected to take on the burden of carrying the ball, especially in heavy traffic.
It's a mantle that Vunipola should seize as easily as he did when Eddie Jones gave him a boost of self-confidence in that stellar 2016. Of course, Vunipola is now seven years older, with all the stress and scars that go along with it. for the sake of life I crash into a human brick wall. Eights will have to reinvent themselves if they are to have a lasting career. The great Kieran Reid, for example, did a lot more work on the inside rather than hiding through the big channels in the fall of his All Black days.
On the contrary, Vunipola can't start to flank, but whether it's through footwork or offloading — a skill he has yet to put to good use under Borthwick — he has to consistently work his way up the line of reinforcement. if he fails to win the initial contact. Borthwick will consider alternative options such as Lewis Ludlam and Ben Earl to fill Vunipola's place against Fiji and Argentina. But for much of the last decade, whenever the England manager looked at eighth position elsewhere, he quickly returned to Vunipole, whose bouts of introspection can quickly turn into self-flagellation.
As unintentional as this may be, Vunipola will know that he let his teammates down, and especially Borthwick, because of his red card. After Argentina, he will have enough time to rectify the situation, but only if he rediscovers that old fire.
Свежие комментарии