When Billy Vunipola last played at a full Twickenham a global pandemic was about as likely as Saracens getting relegated.
His club were kings of Europe, England were weeks from a World Cup final and coronavirus did not exist. Vunipola could not have imagined how life was about to change and that it would be more than three years before he saw 80,000 again at the home of English rugby.
“This is almost like a new debut for me,” said the big number eight, gearing up for Sunday’s clash with Argentina. “I’m pretty pumped about this game.” It is his 30th Test at Twickenham yet this one, he says, feels special for the route it has taken to reach it.
From the early weeks of 2020 coming to terms with Saracens’ demotion for salary cap breaches to the outbreak of Covid and a year spent playing behind closed doors.
He denies ever giving up hope but admits the 2020/21 season in the Championship left him “disillusioned”. “It was tough to play at that level then slot straight back in with England,” he said. “The gap is just too big.”
By the time Jones reached the same conclusion Saracens-heavy England had bombed in the Six Nations and Vunipola was among those to pay the price. It was then he made the key decision to take demotion on the chin rather than spit his dummy.
“Sometimes you can’t control what happens to you but you can control how you react,” he said. “I didn’t want to be one of those who was bitter. I admit, I didn’t want to be at Twickenham. There are marquees everywhere and they want to throw cash at you to do appearances. That was one thing I didn’t want to do.
“I wanted to put myself in the best position to be playing there again, not sitting with 100 drunk people asking me questions about Eddie and why he should pick me. Sometimes it’s not about money, it’s more about how you want to feel, how you want to present yourself. I wasn’t happy just to take the cash. I wanted to play.”
Vunipola decided letting his rugby speak for him was his best option, reasoning that “a lot of people have made the mistake of calling Eddie out – not directly but through the media - and it has backfired. “In my head, I had to find out what I needed to improve on. That became my focus.”
The answer lay in his work off the ball. Addressing that allowed him to improve the quantity and quality of his involvements - and catch Jones’ eye again. Having been ever-present in England’s series win in Australia this summer Vunipola returns to Twickenham buzzing.
“You know what I’ve missed the most?” he said. “That little bit between the anthem and the game starting. You get this spike of nervous energy mixed in with excitement. The place is packed to the rafters, everyone there to watch you. Nothing compares to international rugby.”
