Sunday 27 October 2013

Run for the hills! Vunipola reveals how Dad had him fitness training... at the ...


By

Chris Foy




PUBLISHED:


22:31, 27 October 2013




|

UPDATED:


22:59, 27 October 2013



Billy Vunipola will have come a long, long way if he makes his home Test debut on Saturday on the eve of his 21st birthday against the country in which he was born.


The Saracens No 8’s journey to the brink of a landmark occasion at Twickenham in the first QBE Test against Australia has been epic. From Sydney to Pontypool, across the Severn Bridge to Bristol, down the M4 to Harrow and High Wycombe, and on to Hertfordshire and across to Argentina for a first international  appearance in Salta in the foothills of the Andes.


On that long haul he has gone from being a McDonald’s regular to understanding the need to be fit for his sporting purpose. He has gone from needing financial inducements to exert himself on the field to being a power runner who has to remind himself to release the ball to team-mates from time to time.


Billy Vunipola


Take a bow: Billy Vunipola is set to make his Test home debut against Tonga… the country of his birth



Billy Vunipola


He has gone from being unnerved by rugby’s full-contact ferocity to relishing every collision as a chance to capitalise on the force of his Tongan genes.


And now, Vunipola is on course to take his place in the England team alongside his older brother, Mako. His rampaging form for his new club has catapulted him above the more established Ben Morgan to become the prime contender to join Tom Wood and captain Chris Robshaw in a revised back-row combination.


If he makes the starting XV Billy will have cause to appreciate the turning points in his development.


Billy Vunipola will join brother and Saracens teammate Mako in the England squad


Sibling rivalry: Billy Vunipola (right) will join brother and Saracens teammate Mako in the England squad


An early example is the determination of his father, former Tonga captain Fe’ao Vunipola, to make his sons appreciate the value of fitness. The family were living in Pontypool at the time and the landscape was perfect for physical exertion.


‘Our house was on the corner of a block and on each end were two hills,’ said Billy. ‘So what we’d usually do is run round the block and my dad would time us. We would run up the hill, run across, run down the other hill and sprint back to the house. On the top corner was an even bigger hill and we’d finish off up there. It was massive!


‘I was only six or seven at the time! When we first did it my mum and dad got in a few fights over it. It sounds pretty weird that you’re making six-year-olds run. It felt pointless at the time but it helped me understand what hard work was.


Former Tonga player Feao Vunipola (centre) introduced his sons to hard work early


Get ‘em young: Former Tonga player Feao Vunipola (centre) introduced his sons to hard work early


‘I was a bit overweight because when we came over (to the UK) I was probably a bit spoilt. My mum was always buying us McDonald’s and we just thought it was normal. But we don’t have the genes to burn it off while doing nothing.’


So gradually, the Vunipola brothers were made to understand the need to graft in order to hone their considerable bulk into rugby-playing shape. For Billy, bursts of energy required incentives. ‘My uncles said I used to walk around in games until someone mentioned I might get £10 after the game,’ he said. ‘Apparently I’d run off and score four tries.’


There are countless pictures of the Vunipola siblings, taken during their childhood years, which serve as a lasting testament to how they loomed over their peers. That bulk served them well at junior level, but Fe’ao wanted to test their character too.


Billy Vunipola (far right) aged nine was considerably bigger than his Under 11 teammates


Size matters: Billy Vunipola (far right) aged nine was considerably bigger than his Under 11 teammates


Billy Vunipola


He knew they had the frames to play the game but he wanted to know if they had the heart too, so he pitched them in among adults to put them to the test.


Billy said: ‘I played my first  men’s rugby game when I was 15 for  Burnham-on-Sea. My dad was working there when we were living in Bristol and he thought it would be a good chance to play us against men to see if we were scared or not. I was so scared but I didn’t want to show my dad I was.


‘I played 12, outside my uncle, and we were running up to tackle someone. All I could hear was my uncle shouting, “Hit him, Hit him!”. But I was too scared to tackle him so I just let him run into me.


‘I didn’t see if he was big or not but I could tell it was a good hit because my uncle was tapping me on the head. Ever since then I’ve had the confidence that I can do anything.’


Vunipola got his confidence after being forced to play against men when he was young


Mettle tester: Vunipola got his confidence after being forced to play against men when he was young


Yet, in reality, the apprehension didn’t vanish with that one involuntary tackle. When Billy moved from Bristol to join Harrow School he went along to Wasps thinking he was just there to see if he liked the look of the place. But they had other ideas. Billy was immediately thrown in with the senior squad who were keen to see what he was made of.


‘I thought I was just going to watch training,’ he said. ‘But they said, “We’re doing a tackle drill, put a suit on”. I said, “Are you looking at me?”. I think they all thought I was older than I was. I remember being told, “Some of the boys will test you”. Then, lo and behold, the first carrier went step, step, step, straight into me. I tried to make the hit as best I could. I was a bit nervous and tentative but as soon as I made that first hit I was fine.’


The nerves will be evident again on Saturday if he is picked for  England. His method of combating inner tension is to sleep as much as possible on match day. What will also help him and Mako is the faith instilled in them by their mother, Singa, who serves as a Methodist preacher near the family home in High Wycombe.


Vunipola


On form: Vunipola’s displays for Saracens this season has propelled him towards England reckoning


Billy suggests that his religious beliefs are a vital aspect of fulfilling his playing potential, saying: ‘That is one of our biggest things we take into the game. I don’t think we’d be confident going on to the pitch  having not said a quiet prayer to ourselves. It is part of my  pre-match routine.


‘You are not asking for much. You are asking for an opportunity to show people what you can do rather than asking for a win. If we went on to the pitch not having done that we would not feel ready.’


On Saturday, Vunipola will also thrive on a sense of acceptance. Despite his Tongan heritage, his early years in Australia and the time spent in Wales, he feels proudly English and that the country’s rugby establishment has embraced him.


The Tongan born star is proud to be accepted as British after moving to this country


True Brit: The Tongan born star is proud to be accepted as English after moving to this country


That point was emphasised by a presentation to the England squad during their training camp in Leeds last week, as part of head coach Stuart Lancaster’s focus on the importance of national identity. ‘There was one player brought up in the presentation, one coloured player, James Peters, in the early 1900s,’ said Vunipola.


‘They were talking about how accepted people felt coming to England and that is how me and my brother have felt since we played. We have not had anyone go, “What are they doing playing for England?”. It shows how rugby is so accepting.’


The acceptance will swiftly  turn to adulation if Vunipola marks the next stage of his epic journey with a blockbuster display at Twickenham.



DO THE LIONS NEED A QUOTA NEXT TIME?


Warren Gatland has called for the Lions to discuss introducing a quota system to protect future coaches of the touring team from the selection arguments which raged around last summer’s tour to Australia. Though he led the Lions to a first series win in 16 years, he felt the success was overshadowed by the debate over him having a Welsh-dominated party. Here is the reaction from pundits and coaches:


Ben Kay (Former Lions lock)
I can’t see it working. You have to pick your best team and squad. Warren Gatland loves to throw out such things for discussion. If he’s coach for the next Lions tour he can always say that he put out this idea but had it rejected.


Martin Bayfield (Former Lions lock)
No. I can’t see that idea ever being adopted. But the Lions selections have changed. Sir Ian McGeechan changed the nature of selection for the trip to South Africa in 1997 when he picked a team specially to beat the Springboks and that’s why players like John Bentley and  Alan Tait were brought in and they had not played in the Five Nations that year.


Jeff Probyn (Former England prop)
Warren is only saying what’s said, surely, in private. Every Lions tour has its ‘quotas’ in making sure every country has at least one or two players. 


Richard Cockerill (Leicester head coach)
It’s an interesting comment, but you have to pick your best team and squad. It’s as simple as that. I don’t think a quota system would work.









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Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/24613617


Run for the hills! Vunipola reveals how Dad had him fitness training... at the ...
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