The Borthwick reaction to very public apology from Billy Vunipola
England boss Steve Borthwick has reacted to the public apology issued earlier this week to him in the media by Billy Vunipola. The pair had a historical falling-out in Italy during the lead-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup when the Saracens back-rower made some out-of-line comments to the then-Test team assistant coach.
Four years later, following a maiden Guinness Six Nations campaign with Borthwick at the helm as Eddie Jones’ successor, Vunipola, who was overlooked for selection, sought out the head coach to apologise for what had occurred in Treviso.
Five months later, Vunipola has now been named as the starting England No8 for this Saturday’s Summer Nations Series match versus Wales in London and at his team announcement media briefing on Thursday, Borthwick was asked for his thoughts on the player going public earlier this week with the apology he privately delivered in March.
“I think it shows the character that he has been so open and honest publicly,” reckoned Borthwick. “That shows the character of the man. I think as a situation by the fact that it has played out is bigger than what it actually is in reality, but I think he is an important figure in this squad. The players have incredible respect for him and they look up to him, so having him here in the squad is really important for us.”
Vunipola, in a Rugby World Cup squad announcement interview that was published on Tuesday by The Telegraph, had explained: “I was very, very ahead of myself back then because we had just won the double with Saracens, I had played really well in the semi-final and final and knew I was going to be in the (2019 RWC) England squad.
“I had a conversation with Steve about rugby after training when we were in Treviso. I said a few things that were out of line, basically. I said some things that never should have been said to Steve in that way, but also in front of other people.
“We had already had conversations about my rugby in January (this year) and it is important to say that I don’t believe it had anything to do with me not playing in the Six Nations.
“But I felt it was important for myself to address the issue and actually apologise to Steve, having matured a little bit. I just wanted to let him know that I was sorry, because I am sorry, you know.
“He should never have been in that situation where I’ve made him feel like I was patronising towards him. Especially as an elder, not just the coach but someone who is older than me. It was very disrespectful what I did to Steve.”
With England having made 11 changes to their XV following last weekend’s 9-20 loss to Wales in Cardiff, Vunipola will take the field at Twickenham this Saturday in a back row with Courtney Lawes, who has only played a dozen Test minutes this season, while Ben Earl will make his first Test start after 15 appearances as a sub. Borthwick is looking forward to what the combination can potentially produce.
“There are a lot of combinations across the team to get excited about,” he said. “We talked about midfield; back row is another one of those. It’s brilliant to see Courtney in an England shirt; he played a very small part in the Six Nations, so it is terrific to have him back in the team. He is looking in great shape, looking really sharp.
“Ben Earl, I’m delighted for him to have his first start in an England shirt. He brings enormous energy onto the pitch. We all know the speed he brings in that back row but what I particularly enjoy about his game is the way he links with the backs. There are not too many back row forwards around that I see link with the backs as well he does.
“And then Billy Vunipola is starting at eight. We talked quite a bit about him on Monday. He has worked exceptionally hard to be in the position that he is in and that is immense credit to him.”
Reflecting on what was said earlier this year when Vunipola was excluded from England's plans for the Six Nations, the coach added: “There were several areas we wanted to discuss and improve in his game. Billy has spoken to you about that as well.
“As with every player I want them to develop and improve. That is what we want in this environment because if we keep searching for those improvement areas this team will take big strides in the direction we want to be in at the start of the tournament.”
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Some interesting stats that just proved what my first impression of NZ’s drive to speed up Rugby Union would amount to - fine margins here and there to cut a few seconds off the game and nothing else. To do more there would have to be wholesale changes to the game like doing away with scrums, lineouts and bringing back the ELV’s to have free kicks instead of penalties. Very little chance of it happening but, in the end, Ruby Union would be a 15-man version of Rugby League. There are reasons why Rugby Union is globally more popular that Rugby League and what NZ are also not considering is the unintended consequences of what they want to achieve. This will end up turning Rugby Union into a low value product that will not be acceptable to the paying public. If people really wanted a sped-up version of rugby, then why is Rugby Union globally way more popular than Rugby League? Rugby lovers all over the world are also not stupid and have seen through what NZ are trying to achieve here, selfishly to bring back their glory days of dominance over every other nation and compete with Rugby League that is dominant in Australasia. NH countries just don’t have the cattle, or the fantastic weather needed to play like NZ SR franchises do so good luck to whoever has to try and convince the NH to accept going back to the days of NZ dominance and agreeing to wreck the game in the process. I have serious doubts on the validity of the TV stats presented by GP. All they did was expand the broadcasting base by putting it on free to air, not even any indication of arresting the continued drop in viewership. Match day attendance goes hand in hand with broadcast ratings so if there was an increase in the one you should expect to see it with the other. However, the drop in match day attendance is very evident to the casual highlights package viewer. The only club who looks to be getting solid attendance is the Drua. I am calling it now that NZ’s quest to speed up the game will fail and so will the vote on the 20-minute red card.
Go to commentsIt’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
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