Brutal Vunipola ready to draw Wasps’ sting

No 8 is full of praise for revitalised rivals but tells Saracens can

think we learnt a lot from it,” he says. “Obviously there was an injury that happened during one of the sessions, but it is one of those things. Obviously you feel for Jonesy, but he could easily have got injured in a rugby session. We are just trying to find ways to get better B win today’s showdown and to improve and I think the sessions did help a lot.” illy Vunipola has just spent So what about Wasps? They are a good few minutes Vunipola’s former club too. Today’s praising Wasps, and going match is certainly going to be a contest through their various between differing methods. “They play threats and dangers, when a very attractive style of rugby,” he says. he pauses and says: “You “We play a tighter game and it could be know, we are not a bad team billed as the battle of the opposites. We ourselves.” It is a very good point, and will do the things that we think work one well made. Saracens are the for us and try to nullify what we think double champions, after all. their threats are.”

Wasps are flavour of the month, That said, Vunipola does reckon that unbeaten in the Aviva Premiership and Wasps have improved since last season, playing some wonderfully alluring something few of us saw coming with rugby, but, as they discovered in last the departures of George Smith and season’s European Champions Cup Charles Piutau. “They have got a lot semi-final, Saracens are a very more variety to their game,” says different proposition from any other Vunipola. “They have got a strong side in England. driving maul, their line-out has

It is going to be some clash this improved massively, their scrum is afternoon at Allianz Park. But those solid and they attack teams from there. hoping the stunning 64-23 victory “Also they are great from open and Wasps secured at the ground last broken play. That 9/10/12 axis they have season might provide a pointer may got is so good, they have got left-foot need to consider that it was achieved and right-foot kicking options [with when the big boys were away on Six Danny Cipriani and Jimmy Gopperth], Nations duty, and it is actually the only and they can always open up that time Wasps have won in the last 10 running option because Cipriani has meetings between the sides. got great skills, and also Dan Robson

Then there is the recent defeat and ‘Simmo’ [Joe Simpson] have got Saracens suffered at Harlequins. A that pace around the fringes from concern? Not according to Vunipola. “I scrum-half. Their forwards, especially think it was probably a good thing for their back row, have given them a lot us,” he says. “I am not sure what the of front-foot ball that we have to front coaches think here, but I thought it up to.” took away all that circus around ‘We There are plenty of compelling headto-heads, haven’t lost for however many games but Nathan Hughes against on the trot’, and we just kind of got Vunipola at No 8 will surely be the back on to playing our own game. most brutal, even if they have spent

“We can now just focus on our most of last week together with own little jobs and get better at England at Brighton. “It was good to that, maximising our potential in be in camp together,” says Vunipola. those areas. Once you start thinking “We kind of gave each other advice about results you start going off your on what we thought we could help game, getting frustrated and getting each other with. It’s all very polite in into things we don’t usually get into. I camp, but as soon as the game starts we am actually quite glad. But I say again, have to look after our own teams. this is not ‘Smally’ [Mark McCall, the “They are your friends. I’m not director of rugby] talking, this is me.” saying Nathan and I aren’t friends, but

Vunipola has always been it is a case of, ‘You play for your team independent of mind, so when he and I play for mine’.” It certainly is, the defends England’s judo training last two best teams and the two best No 8s week, during which Wasps flanker Sam in the country going at each other like Jones was injured, you hope it is not rutting stags. necessarily some blithe party line. “I It is indeed that time of year. Where the game will be won and lost