MHR’s flagship recruit in the off-season, the England international arrived in Hérault with a strong desire to win back.
From his 74 caps with the XV de la Rose, his three victories in the 6 Nations Tournament and his immense record won with his club Saracens (four times English champion, three times European champion) Billy Vunipola is undeniably THE most beautiful recruit in the MHR this season, and even one of the most beautiful recruits in the Top 14. However, the fact remains that the former England bulldozer is no longer as destructive as in the past and as in the selection , the latter ended up giving way to decathlete Ben Earl. Aware that his international career was closer to the end than the beginning, Billy Vunipola therefore – like many of his compatriots – chose exile towards France and the Top 14, to engage with the club which has always never really found a replacement worthy of his compatriot Zach Mercer, who has since returned to England but who has been insistently announced on the side of Toulon for several months.
The problem is that the younger Vunipola recently hit the headlines in a bad way: on April 29, we learned that the latter had been arrested by the Spanish police in a bar in Majorca. In the process, images of his arrest by six peace guards (with double taser discharge as a bonus) went viral on social networks. Since then, the colossus of Tongan origin and born in Sydney has expressed his mea-culpa to our colleagues at the Daily Mail: “My problem is not knowing when to stop. It was my last trip with the guys and I really wanted to enjoy it. But I clearly went too far. »
Simmonds – Vunipola, the Montpellier “British connection”
Looking at his first weeks of training and his first matches (at the time of writing, he has already made four appearances for three as a starter), the colossus seems to be making a comeback: “In the quality of the training he offers us, we really have the feeling that he wants to get back to his best level,” his manager Joan Caudullo told us at the start of the season. He hasn’t missed a single training session and when we take away some of his play, he complains, so that’s a good sign. He does not shy away from the task when he is tired, the physical preparation was tough, it was very hot and yet he remained needy. Afterwards, he is over 30 years old so we have to manage him. But in any case on the shaping part it is above average: It is really solid and moves well. It cannot be in the standards of other lighter number eights, it will necessarily be a tank. He has a solid eight profile which will be very useful to us in the Top 14.”.
In his behavior, the Englishman also shows that he is a world-class player: “ He is a natural leader: as soon as he speaks, everyone listens. He is kind to the players, and he brings significant rigor to the right gestures and precision, which is an immediate added value for our group. His offensive and defensive attitudes are really good. He understood everything before the others. »
An added value which could be further enhanced by an association with his compatriot – another Englishman! – The third row Sam Simmonds, who occupied the corridor last year: “Associating them would not create an imbalance,” assures the manager. There will be 30 matches to play, we need quantity and quality. In this position, we also have other players like Marco Tauleigne, Lenni Nouchi or Alexandre Bécognée even if we see him more in a number 7 position. Simmonds and Vunipola have two different profiles, so they can absolutely be on the same score sheet. It will depend on the teams we face but I prefer to have them with me than against me. » Statement to which we fully subscribe…
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