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England fans devastated by Mako Vunipola injury
By Josh Raisey
After the news emerged that Mako Vunipola has been ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations with an ankle injury, England fans flooded onto Twitter to show their disappointment.
The prop has been sensational for England so far this championship, and has shown how pivotal he is to the team after missing the Autumn. He is one of the best loosehead props in the world at the moment and is integral to England’s attack.
It is not only his power that makes him such a threat to opposing defences, but his deft hands, which means defenders struggle to read what he is going to do. The way he links with other forwards and his fly-half Owen Farrell is a major basis for England’s attack, and something that no other prop offers. His workrate is also major asset, shown by him topping the tackle count against Ireland and almost playing the entire 80 minutes- earning him the Man-of-the-Match award. Furthermore, his scrummaging has got much stronger in recent months, which was always deemed to be his weakness. The list seems to be unending as to why he is critical to England.
His loss will be immeasurable, and while Ben Moon is a very strong scrummager, and Ellis Genge is a devastating ball carrier, neither possesses the complete array of skills that Vunipola has, and Eddie Jones will know this.
The fans are rightfully distressed over this news, particularly with the huge clash with Wales on the horizon. Many have highlighted how crucial the Saracen has been to England, and have rightfully identified him as one of England’s best players.
With the World Cup at the end of the year, some fans have stressed that the main objective will be to have the 28-year-old fit for the showcase in Japan. But in the intervening time, England and Saracens will suffer. The prop will miss Sarries’ Champions Cup quarter-final with Glasgow at the end of March, and could well miss their semi-final in April should they get that far. But for now, England will miss him most.
This is what the fans have to say:
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“It was true actually. Arteta hasn’t won much, nor slot. Pep has of course, and is a few years older. BUT - here’s the clincher: compare his trophy haul when he was THE SAME AGE AS your other examples! Boom.”
Boom indeed! My point proven. Pep hasn’t gotten better with age - he won loads when he was pretty new to coaching.
But the examples I gave were to show that the top coaches now are younger than the top coaches were 10 years ago. They are also less experienced than the top coaches were 10 years ago - something you seem not to have noticed.
I’m English btw.
Ok so you’re admitting you didn’t really have a point to make wrt Ferguson and spending regulations?
Go to commentsI really like Tupaea. He has come back to a level that might even be higher than before his terrible injury in 2022. And congratulations to him. But objectively, I think he still remains a "lesser" Tavatavanawai in almost all aspects of the game. Furthermore, comparing the stats of the Chiefs and the Landers is not fair. Tupaea benefits from a lot of forwards and a much superior halfback pairing. Tavatavanawai (like Tangitau) works miracles within an average team. Tupaea is good in a very good team.
The All Blacks must select excellence. And excellence is visible at centre and in other positions. I believe the All Blacks have enormous potential, unlike anything seen since 2015. Razor must select the right players; it’s as simple as that... he just needs to bend down to pick them up
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