Johnny shot at history
Billy and Mako ready to wallop Wallabies
JOHNNY SEXTON insists Ireland won’t be weighed down by history against the All Blacks today.
Ireland have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals and, at the ninth attempt, must overcome world champions New Zealand to change that.
“Of course we’d like it to be better but it is what it is,” said Sexton. “There’s nothing we can do about previous results.
“All we can do now is concentrate on putting in our best performance. It’ll give us a chance and if we can walk off that pitch having played our best, give it everything, we can look at ourselves afterwards no matter what.
“That’s what we focus on. The record at the tournament, it’s not something that we’ve overly spoken about.
“Of course we know we can make history, we can create something a little bit special if we can do that.”
Sexton admits Ireland may take more conservative action to keep the scoreboard ticking over than they have over the past month. Only one of their scores has come from a penalty, with the emphasis on going for the jugular with kicks to the corner.
“We try and mix and match,” added the Leinster star. “It will be a different game and if three points are on offer, we’ll look at them. It’s all about how the game is going.”
BILLY VUNIPOLA says brotherly love can sweep England into the World Cup semi-finals.
Big brother Mako is back and the Red Roses have not lost a Test with the two of them on the team sheet since June 2018.
Now Billy is hoping they can help see off Australia in today’s quarter-final.
The No.8 said: “Do I play better with Mako in the team? It’s definitely a thing.
“I enjoy having him around, he’s a bit like my shield. He takes a lot of pressure off me because he’s the older brother.
“Anything that comes towards the Vunipolas he usually takes the brunt of, as big brothers do. I’m in the back just kicking back, as younger brothers do.”
Together the pair have won European Cups and Premiership finals with Saracens and a Grand Slam with England. They also combined to thump Australia 3-0 in the historic 2016 series triumph.
“We have a funny relationship,” said Billy.
“Deep down I think we really love each other, but he’d never say it to me. I always say it to him and he gets embarrassed and runs away.
“But there is definitely that love and respect. We don’t have to hang around and tell each other every day or even every (inset) from ALEX SPINK in Oita
other minute how much we care other, it’s just there.”
There are shades of the Williams sisters here, which becomes even clearer when Billy reveals how he could not play against his sibling.
“The last time I did it was for Wasps against Saracens, a few weeks later I signed for the same club,” he revealed.
“It was difficult, I didn’t want to tackle him, it felt really weird. I’d rather be with him than against him.”
The younger Vunipola has also warned his team-mates ahead of their showdown with Australia: “Turn up or we go home”.
For the first time since the Wallabies eliminated England in 2015, Eddie Jones’ men face a straight knockout match.
And the Saracens star said: “I told the lads, ‘This could be our last session.’
“I said it just to check the boys and I had a few stares.
“They laughed it off but I was like, ‘I for each am being serious, if we don’t turn up, we are going home.’”
England have not reached the semi-finals since 2007, losing a last-eight clash to France in 2011 and bombing out in the pool stages last time round.
They are strong favourites despite not having played for a fortnight due to super typhoon Hagibis.
But they were so badly beaten by the Wallabies at Twickenham in the 2015 tournament that they know not to take anything for granted.
Vunipola added: “You don’t want to live in fairyland because you get to Sunday and it’s done, and that’s when the excuses come up.
“But we have talked about it already, made sure we know what the consequences are.
“We know if we can keep playing the way we have been but be just that little bit better, we will be in a good place.”