Billy Vunipola

Billy Vunipola (born 3 November 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays at number 8 for Saracens in the English Premiership and for the England national team. Born in Australia to Tongan parents, he qualified for England through residency. He made his England debut in 2013 and has since won 45 caps.

Billy Vunipola
Birth nameViliami Vunipola
Date of birth (1992-11-03) 3 November 1992
Place of birthSydney, Australia
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight130 kg (20 st 7 lb; 290 lb)[1]
SchoolThe Castle School
Harrow School
Notable relative(s)Feʻao Vunipola (father)
Mako Vunipola (brother)
Elisi Vunipola (uncle)
Manu Vunipola (uncle)
Manu Vunipola (cousin)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number 8
Current team Saracens
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011–2013
2013–		 Wasps
Saracens		 41
100		 (20)
(115)
Correct as of 21 April 2019
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012
2013–		 England U20
England		 4
50
 (5)
(40)
Correct as of 26 October 2019

Early life

Vunipola was born in Sydney in Australia to Tongan parents,[2] but moved to Wales with his family as a young child after his father Feʻao Vunipola signed for Pontypool RFC in 1998. He was educated at Porth Infants School and Griffithstown Junior School, playing for New Panteg RFC with Joe Lane. He subsequently moved to The Castle School in Thornbury, England where he played junior rugby for Thornbury RFC before being given a scholarship to attend Harrow School.[3]

Club career

Wasps

While at Harrow School, he joined the Wasps Academy.[4] He made his senior team debut in 2011–12 season and played 30 matches over two seasons before leaving at the end of the 2012–2013 season.

Saracens

Vunipola signed a contract in January 2013 to move to Saracens at the end of the 2012–13 Aviva Premiership season. During his time at Saracens he has won four Premiership titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, with Vunipola featuring in all four finals and scoring a try in the 2018 final.[5][6][7][8] He also helped Saracens win the European Champions Cup in 2016, 2017 and 2019, scoring a try in the 2019 final.[9][10][11]

International career

England

After representing England at U18 and U20 level, Vunipola was called up to the England Saxons Squad in January 2013. He trained with the England Squad during the 2013 Six Nations Championship and made his senior England debut during the England tour of Argentina in the test against Argentina in Salta in June 2013, coming off the bench to score a try in England's 32–3 win.[12] Earlier in the tour he played in an uncapped match against a Consur XV, and scored a hat-trick of tries in six minutes.

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster selected Vunipola in his squad for the Autumn Internationals.[13]

Vunipola was named man of the match for the Scotland–England, England-Ireland and France-England matches in the 2016 Six Nations Championship.

British and Irish Lions

In April 2017, Vunipola was selected as the one of the 41 British and Irish Lions to tour New Zealand in the summer alongside his brother Mako Vunipola. However, due to an ongoing shoulder injury, he withdrew from the squad on 21 May 2017 and was replaced by England back-row teammate James Haskell.[14]

International tries
As of 26 September 2019 [15]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1 ArgentinaSalta, ArgentinaEstadio Padre Ernesto Martearena2013 Tour of Argentina8 June 2013Win32 – 3
2 ItalyLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2015 Six Nations14 February 2015Win47 – 17
3 FranceLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2015 Six Nations25 March 2015Win55 – 35
4 FijiLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2015 Rugby World Cup18 September 2015Win35 – 11
5 AustraliaSydney, AustraliaSydney Football Stadium2016 Tour of Australia25 June 2016Win44 – 40
6 ScotlandLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2017 Six Nations11 March 2017Win61 – 21
7 WalesLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up match11 August 2019Win33 – 19
8 United StatesKobe, JapanKobe Misaki Stadium2019 Rugby World Cup26 September 2019 Win45 – 7[16]

Personal life

Vunipola's father is former Tonga captain Fe'ao Vunipola and his mother, Rev. Iesinga Vunipola, is a Methodist minister in High Wycombe, and a chaplain to the Tongan community in the UK.[2] He is the nephew of two other former international players, Manu and 'Elisi Vunipola, who both represented Tonga in the 1990s. His brother, Mako Vunipola is his teammate with Saracens and England.

References
  1. "Billy Vunipola". Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  2. Chadband, Ian (7 March 2013). "England v Italy: Vunipola brothers Mako and Billy want Mum to see their Sunday best". Daily Telegraph.
  3. Bull, Andy (16 November 2016). "From Tonga to Twickenham: Mako and Billy Vunipola's incredible journey | Andy Bull". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. Souster, Mark (7 September 2013). "Billy Vunipola hopes to confirm brotherly love for Saracens". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  5. "Premiership final: Bath 16-28 Saracens". BBC. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. "Premiership final: Saracens 28-20 Exeter Chiefs". BBC. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  7. "Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs 10-27 Saracens". BBC. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. "Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs 34-37 Saracens". BBC. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  9. "Saracens beat Racing 92 to win first European Champions Cup". BBC. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  10. "European Champions Cup: Saracens beat Clermont 28-17 to retain European title". BBC. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  11. "Leinster 10-20 Saracens: English side win third Champions Cup in Newcastle". BBC. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  12. "Argentina 3–32 England". espn.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  13. Robert Kitson (22 October 2013). "Chris Robshaw set to be confirmed as England captain for Australia clash | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  14. "Billy Vunipola withdraws from Lions squad". British and Irish Lions. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  15. "Billy Vunipola". 7 July 2019.
  16. "England 45-7 United States". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.