Snubbed Vunipolas show their class
THE Vunipola brothers shrugged off their latest England snub to inspire Saracens to a bonus-point 40-3 win over Bath.
Billy and Mako Vunipola were left out of Eddie Jones’s 36-man squad for the Six Nations, and instead they helped Sarries move back to second spot in the Premiership. Hooker Tom Woolstencroft starred with a brace of tries.
No8 Billy showed off some of his trademark ball-carrying prowess while prop Mako put his body on the line again, giving the visiting forwards plenty of problems.
Asked if the brothers were frustrated at being overlooked for England, Saracens attack coach Joe Shaw said, ‘I’m sure they are, but we don’t see that here. Billy has been performing well all year. The number of his carries and physicality really stood out.’
Cousin Manu Vunipola, at fly-half, was also in sparkling form as Saracens crushed their opponents with five tries. Alex Lozowski kicked 15 points, with Alex Lewington, Alex Goode and Theo McFarland scoring tries.
Leaders Leicester bounced back from two defeats by running in five tries in a 36-16 win over Worcester.
Freddie Burns scored one of the Tigers’ tries and added nine points with the boot.
Wasps completed an astonishing turnaround at Exeter, coming from 18 points behind to win 27-26. They were still 11 points down with just two minutes left on the clock.
Paolo Odogwu was the Wasps hero, opening the scoring and then completing it deep into added time with the winning try in the corner.
Andy Uren scored the first of Bristol’s four tries in their 37-21 win over Newcastle, turning on a style which delighted director of rugby Pat Lam.
Six Nations favourites France will be at full strength on the pitch against Italy in Paris today, but they will have to open their campaign without head coach Fabien Galthie, who has tested positive for Covid.
Raphael Ibanez will take charge but insists Galthie will be hands-on, albeit from a hotel room at their Chantilly training camp.
‘Fabien will be in direct contact with me and the coaches,’ Ibanez said. ‘We are going to study the best way to involve him. We will do everything to leave as little room as possible for improvisation.’