Vunipola stands firm in row over Folau’s ‘hell awaits’ post
Saracens No8 wants to leave controversy in past to protect the England squad,
Billy Vunipola has refused to back down over an Instagram post that sided with Wallaby full-back Israel Folau, who has been sacked by the Australian union for homophobic views that claimed “hell awaits” gay people.
The Saracens No8 was given a formal warning in April by the Rugby Football Union and issued with a reprimand by his club for “liking” Folau’s religiously-triggered post and subsequent comments by Vunipola himself that people should “live lives how God intended”.
Speaking for the first time at length about the furore, Vunipola
insisted that he had made his position clear, but pledged not to comment further on such matters so as not to become a distraction to England’s World Cup campaign.
“I want it to be known where I stand and I’m not going to expand or take a step back, which is not being stubborn, but me not wanting the [other] players to be affected by it, as it is not fair on them,” Vunipola said in Bristol, where England are based this week before heading to Treviso to continue their preparations.
“I have made my position clear and I don’t want it to be a distraction. If I was a boxer and it was just affecting me, I would sit here and answer questions. But it doesn’t just affect me. It affects players and coaching staff, because they will be asked their opinions. I don’t want to put them under the cosh. It is firmly what I put out there and it is firmly on me.”
Vunipola has not taken down the post and intends to carry on using social media as he deems it “a positive tool to use” in giving insights to how players behave behind the scenes. He cited the example of fly-half George Ford, not having milk or sugar in his tea, a rather less inflammatory revelation than his reference to Folau’s contentious stance. There are no edicts in place about the
‘I’m not going to expand or take a step back but I don’t want the players to be affected by it’
England squad’s use of social media. “There is no restriction on it, especially from the RFU or anyone else, although we [club and country] have talked about it at length,” Vunipola said.
“We came to the conclusion that this issue, which people say I brought on myself, is better off left alone. I don’t want this carrying over [after today] and someone else have to answer questions on it.”
Vunipola was on firmer footing when stating his utmost commitment to England winning the World Cup in Japan. The 26-year-old, who was part of the deflating 2015 campaign, believes that being bold in aspiration is a key part of the process.
“If you’re consciously talking about it then you’re consciously and unconsciously thinking about it,” Vunipola said. “It is funny to say. It’s almost a bit cringe to say, ‘Yeah, we’re going to win this’. It’s like a boxer saying he is going to knock someone out and then gets knocked out, which is what everyone wants to happen. People want us to be knocked out because we are England – so we might as well put it out there anyway.
“Eddie has always said that this was a four-year cycle. He wants to win the World Cup, that was his goal. That is my goal, too – to win the World Cup. There’s no point winning Champions Cups, Six Nations, Premierships, if you can’t actually do it when the biggest fish of all is on the line.”
Vunipola, part of one of the most diverse England rugby squads ever to head to a World Cup, was quite taken by the impact of the cricket team’s success on Sunday.
“It definitely whets the appetite,” Vunipola said. “It has always been our goal to bring England together as a community to support a successful team. Definitely [it was a multicultural effort]. It does make you feel you represent the whole of England, not just each other. We have people from different walks of life and that is what makes this team pretty cool.”
One of the many fallouts from the 2015 World Cup was Vunipola’s regret that he felt the squad never felt as close-knit as in his club environment; that the other players didn’t feel like “mates”.
“That’s something we are definitely working on now and have a lot of growth to make,” Vunipola said. “It is unique to England that everyone knows what you get paid and that can cause differences. We are trying to build bridges where we can be brutally honest with each other.”
Vunipola was asked what it would be like if he were to be selected for
England’s opening World Cup game against Tonga in Sapporo on Sept 22. Vunipola, whose parents are from Tonga, returned to the land of his forebears last month to get married.
“It would be the first time against Tonga, which would be cool, very emotional,” said Vunipola, who had invited 130 people to his wedding to Simmone in Likualofa, only for 280 to turn up.
“It was awesome, but stressful. In Tongan culture it is rude not to invite someone if they make the effort to turn up and give you gifts. They’re not on Facebook or anything, so they turn up to represent their villages. There was a lot of traditional stuff, the giving of mats [for example]. I’m glad it happened the way it did.”