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England duo Vunipola and Launchbury to make club returns
By Liam Blackburn
Billy Vunipola and Joe Launchbury are ready to return for their respective clubs following lengthy injury lay-offs in a boost to England coach Eddie Jones' Six Nations preparations.
England were depleted by injuries during the recent November Tests, with number eight Vunipola missing due to a fractured arm and Launchbury sidelined after undergoing knee surgery.
However, Vunipola will make his first appearance in almost three months when Saracens face Sale Sharks in the Premiership on Friday while Launchbury is back for Wasps' clash against Northampton Saints two days later.
Vunipola fractured his arm in early October and has been blighted by injuries in recent years having started just three internationals since November 2016.
Lock Launchbury had been a more regular fixture for his country but the 54-cap international had to go under the knife after injuring his knee in September.
England begin their Six Nations campaign against defending champions Ireland in Dublin on February 2.
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Latest Comments
That's really stupidly pedantic. Let's say the gods had smiled on us, and we were playing Ireland in Belfast on this trip. Then you'd be happy to accept it as a tour of the UK. But they're not going to Australia, or Peru, or the Philippines, they're going to the UK. If they had a match in Paris it would be fair to call it the "end-of-year European tour". I think your issue has less to do with the definition of the United Kingdom, and is more about what is meant by the word "tour". By your definition of the word, a road trip starting in Marseilles, tootling through the Massif Central and cruising down to pop in at La Rochelle, then heading north to Cherbourg, moving along the coast to imagine what it was like on the beach at Dunkirk, cutting east to Strasbourg and ending in Lyon cannot be called a "tour of France" because there's no visit to St. Tropez, or the Louvre, or Martinique in the Caribbean.
Go to commentsJust thought for a moment you might have gathered some commonsense from a southerner or a NZer and shut up. But no, idiots aren't smart enough to realise they are idiots.
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