26 March 2023 , 19:00
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Billy Vunipola believes being “selfish” cost him his England place and hopes putting the interests of others first will bring about a World Cup recall.
The Saracens star has not played for his country since Steve Borthwick took charge. The pair had a “very honest” meeting and the number eight was dropped. Three months on, England are no nearer turning their fortunes around and Vunipola is producing the power game they chose to ignore.
In front of 55,000 fans on Saturday the 30-year old eclipsed Alex Dombrandt, the man who took his England shirt, as Saracens beat Harlequins 36-24. On the day Lions great Sam Warburton insisted England need “his carrying power and ability to dominate the gainline” he exhibited both in a man of the match display.
“I got it wrong, I felt I became very selfish in wanting to force myself back into the team,” he said, as Saracens booked a home Premiership semi-final with six weeks of the regular season still to go.
“I’ve seen a better way to do it is to help others around me, who in turn help me. It’s not tennis, I can’t go out there and solely affect the game by myself. I’ve got to do my work within the team structures.”
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Losing his England shirt hurt, but the 68-cap forward impressed Mark McCall at his club with what the Saracens boss termed an “unbelievable” response. It can be frustrating for an international, and Billy was disappointed of course not to be in the squad,” said McCall. “But he threw himself in and helped the younger players.”
Vunipola was man-of-the-match as he starred in the Saracens victory over HarlequinsVunipola also refused to take the corporate shilling and stayed away from England games, watching on TV alone at home instead.
“It's tough being at games, knowing you've not been picked,” he said. “Doing that [corporate] would feel like almost accepting my fate and saying I’m fine with this. It's not my job to commentate. I'm still playing, and I want to play.”
Quins felt the full force of that resolve at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where Owen Farrell pulled the strings before being forced off with suspected ankle ligament damage.
Vunipola is now eyeing an recall under new England boss Borthwick (Getty Images)Although Dombrandt scored the game’s first try inside two minutes, he was not able to match the 80-minute influence of Vunipola. Asked his secret he laughed: “Training more, eating less. Simple formula but hard to do sometimes, especially in St Albans where there’s Deliveroo all over the shop.
“It was very important to park the [England] disappointment, not sulk but move on and help others around me as well as being inspiring to others.
“Putting in the hard work away from prying eyes has helped me be a lot more consistent. I know I’ve got to work myself back into the [England] team.”