Billy’s auntie knows best

– Billy Vunipola, above, has promised England will “come out firing” in the World Cup final against South Africa, revealing he has been getting rugby tips from his auntie ahead of the biggest game of his life.

Vunipola, 26, called for a rampant England to go again on Saturday in Yokohama after stunning defending champions New Zealand 19-7 to move one win from a second world title.

“We’ve got to back up what we did last week – it can’t be a fluke,” Vunipola said, predicting a titanic clash up front against South Africa’s hulking pack.

“The challenge has been laid out by South Africa. You saw them take Japan apart, then Wales,” the No 8 added in the run-up to a repeat of the 2007 final, which South Africa won 15-6 with current England coach Eddie Jones working as a technical advisor to the Springboks. “Obviously they’re big, big people, but then we’ve got a few big blokes on our team. They’ve already come out and said they’re going to fight fire with fire.

“I guess we return serve by saying: ‘Bring it on!’ It’s a final – you have to front up.”

England’s run to their fourth World Cup final has banished the demons of their 2015 flop and the humiliation of becoming the first host nation to exit at the pool stage, under Stuart Lancaster.

They are a different animal under Jones, who was Australia coach when England beat the Wallabies in the 2003 final thanks to Jonny Wilkinson’s famous extra-time drop goal.

“We want to peak at the end of the tournament,” insisted Vunipola, who remembers the 2015 World Cup well. “... obviously we want to be the best in the world.” – AFP