Vunipolas in cash boost for Welsh kids
WELSH rugby has found inspiring new sponsors – England’s Vunipola brothers.
Their financial support for the grass-roots game in the town where they grew up was revealed as Wales and England prepare to collide in Bristol tomorrow for scrum practice.
Billy Vunipola and older brother Mako have given the Pontypool & District Schools RFU £1,000 for new kit. It is a debt of gratitude to the retired headmaster who introduced them to the game, ex-Abertillery prop Dawson Jones.
Jones said: “We were talking to a sponsor who was willing to pay £1,000 provided they could get a photo of the three local Pontypool boys who’d been picked for the Lions – Billy, Mako and Taulupe Faletau. I rang Billy for a chat and he said, ‘I’ll sponsor you, just send me your bank details’.
“The money came through two days later. And when I called to thank him, he said: ‘No, thank you Uncle Daws. This is pay back time.’ That’s Billy and Mako for you, typical of the whole family’s generosity.
“They didn’t do this to get any publicity. It’s a terrific gesture and a great help and I think it’s only right that people should know about it.’’
Jones, who signed their dad, Fea’o Vunipola, then Tonga’s Test hooker, for Pontypool almost 20 years ago, bought Billy his first pair of boots at the age of nine. “He was nearly as big as me then so I got him a size 9,’’ Jones said. “They were too small. I had to go back and get a size 10.’’
With enough money to buy boots for their entire 36-strong under-11 squad, which includes the Vunipolas’ cousin James Talamai, the Pontypool schools have spent the money on waterproof jackets. They have been specially designed to include the flags of Tonga and Wales with the message: ‘Supported by the Vunipola boys’.
Billy has never made any secret of his admiration for Jones. “He played a hugely significant role in my life, making me and my family so welcome,’’ Vunipola wrote in his autobiography.
When he left Wales to take up a rugby scholarship in Bristol, Billy wrote to Jones saying: “I promise, Uncle Daws, that I am never going to play for England.”
There is frustration that the national team management allowed the brothers to be claimed by England from under their noses.
“I’ve still got Billy’s letter and every time I speak to Mako the accent is still unmistakably Gwent,’’ Jones said. “Wales had their opportunity but someone blew it.”