Vunipolas to leave Saracens as emotional Alex Sanderson recalls booze-fuelled fight tale
An emotional Alex Sanderson led the tributes to Mako and Billy Vunipola as Saracens confirmed that their siblings would be leaving this summer on a day of fond farewells across the Premiership.
With Manu Vunipola, the cousin of those England stalwarts, also to depart this summer, it confirmed the end of an era for the north London club. Saracens are already losing Owen Farrell to Racing 92 at the end of the season.
Mako and Billy have been cornerstones of Saracens’ success over more than a decade, the former joining the club from Bristol in 2011 and the latter arriving from Wasps two years later. They subsequently contributed towards five Premiership titles and three Champions Cup victories together.
Mako retired from international duty in January with 79 England caps, having also toured with the British and Irish Lions three times, racking up nine Test appearances. Billy, meanwhile, played for England 75 times and featured at three World Cups.
Sanderson, now director of rugby at Sale Sharks, will be plotting a way past Saracens this weekend in a bid to steer his current team to a play-off spot. However, he was visibly emotional upon discussing a duo he came to know even before his decorated stint as a coach in Mark McCall’s set-up.
“I coached Mako when he was 17; that was the second coaching gig I got after going to the Reds with Eddie Jones – a baptism of fire,” Sanderson remembered.
“I got back, went to the RFU and coached the [England] under-18s. Mako was in that squad and he couldn’t do a backwards roly-poly at the time. He was out of shape, he had grey hair at 17 and I thought: ‘He’s lost his passport, surely… he’s not 17.’ But, jeez, could he play rugby.
“His output and his involvement in the game, even back then, when he wasn’t in great condition, showed his ability to read the game, to find the ball and to pop up in areas defensively to have impact on both sides of the ball.”
‘Billy threw a cork and it hit me in the eye’
Regarding Billy Vunipola, who has been linked with Montpellier, there was a mention of the 2014 Heineken Cup final, which Saracens lost 23-6, and a drunken argument on a team trip abroad. Sanderson made a tongue-in-cheek reference to Vunipola’s recent escapades in Mallorca.
“Then I met Billy,” he said. “I don’t think of rugby acutely when I think of those two. I remember sitting next to him after the European final we lost against Toulon. He was inconsolable, and it’s things like that that iron you to players.
“We had a bit of a fight on a p--- up in a bar in Croatia. He threw a cork and it hit me in the eye – I don’t think he’s drunk since then... – and when I left [Saracens], he sent me a letter apologising for that incident 10 years later.
“Rugby-wise, they’re brilliant players. As men; none better. I’m fortunate to have known them.”
McCall pays tribute ahead of exit
McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, highlighted the rare intuition of the Vunipola brothers and their impact on the sport.
“They’re two of the keenest rugby minds I’ve ever come across in players; two guys who could go on to coach if they choose to go down that path, because their understanding and their innate knowledge of the game is so strong,” he said.
“For us, [they’ve been] amazing players and amazing people, at the heart of what the club has achieved.”
Admitting that Mako had caused him to reassess what is expected of front-rowers, McCall explained that Billy had set standards for other No 8s at the peak of his career.
“Few players change how their position is played,” he said. “Mako’s all-around skillset, rugby intelligence and physicality made us – as coaches – rethink what’s possible from a loosehead prop.”
“His ability on the ball, his ability to see space and take space,” he added of Mako. “I just think all of a sudden you’ve seen props the world over have those attributes when maybe it wasn’t quite like that before.
“You just need to watch some of the film of Billy’s career. For a while, was the number one No 8 in the world. I think everyone knows that.”
McCall saluted Manu Vunipola, the former England age-grade fly-half as a “fantastic person” who had “given his heart and soul to the club” and “developed his game superbly”.
Meanwhile, Gloucester confirmed the exit of Jonny May, second in the all-time list of England try-scorers, with Harlequins announcing that Will Collier, their distinguished tighthead prop, would be taking up an opportunity in France.
After the announcement that Saturday’s encounter with Newcastle Falcons at Kingsholm will be a goodbye for May, George Skivington heralded “a true legend of Gloucester rugby”.
Finally, Danny Care suggested that Collier, who has been linked with Castres, is “one of the most underappreciated players in the world” but that “eating baguettes in France was an itch he had to scratch”.
