When Mako Vunipola is asked about the Lions, less than three weeks before the squad for the summer tour to New Zealand is announced, the prop prefers to talk about Saracens and how the Premiership and European champions have become the target of big game hunters. Glasgow, who visit Allianz Park in Sunday’s European Champions Cup quarter-final, are the latest to take aim.
Saracens are third in the Premiership behind Exeter and Wasps having endured a Six Nations wobble when they lost at lowly Worcester and Gloucester without their legion of England players and injured adjutants, but they will be at full strength against Glasgow when the Vunipola brothers will start together for the club for the third time in 2017, Mako and Billy having suffered knee ligament injuries before Christmas.
“The lay-off is bearing fruit,” says Mako, who toured Australia with the 2013 Lions and was out of action for two months, missing the opening two rounds of the Six Nations. “I probably feel better than earlier in the season and ready for what will be an exciting run-in for Saracens. Glasgow will be a big test and one to look forward to. You always have a bit of bounce when you come back from injury.”
It is nearly two years since Saracens lost in Europe and while their 13-match winning run, which equalled Munster’s record, ended in Llanelli in January, they are unbeaten in 15, having become the first team last season to win the trophy without losing a match at the group stage. “Winning two trophies last season means we have a target on our backs,” says Vunipola, who was a replacement for England’s final three matches in the Six Nations, which culminated in the defeat in Dublin that denied the champions successive grand slams.
“Teams are playing better against us and we have had more injuries than last season. We knew what it would be like coming into the campaign and we enjoy the challenge of knowing that every teams wants to play their best game against us.
“England missed out on another grand slam, which was disappointing, but our target at the start of the season was to retain the title, which we did. We were not good enough on the day against Ireland, who were deserved winners, and that is something we have to reflect on.”
This is the last weekend before the squad announcement on 19 April for players to make a loud statement to the Lions’ management with two club weekends following. “If you think too much about the Lions, you trip yourself up,” says Vunipola. “All I can do is work hard, focus on what is in front of me and play well. Having been on one tour, and it was a shock when I got the call-up, I want some more, but I know how tough it is to be selected.
“I am definitely in better shape than I was. I have been in professional rugby a few years now and I know what my body needs: the prep beforehand and the work after training are the most important things for a player. There are parts of me that take a while to fire up because of my past knee injuries. You have to have that competitive edge every time you play and you want to be out there every time there is an opportunity to play for your club and country, playing every game; and that is the problem.”
It will become a bigger one if Premiership Rugby fulfils its intention to use the tweak to the calendar after the 2019 World Cup to increase the season by a month so it runs from the beginning of September until the end of June with international players then having four weeks on tour. “As a player, you wonder how you will get through it, but it is not my job to plan the season,” says Vunipola. “The high-ups make the call, but it is difficult for players. Even now you have to try and keep on top and the amount of work I do before training is a lot different to four years ago. It takes longer to get the body going, and that is part of professional rugby. It makes what you do away from the pitch more important than ever.”
For Sunday’s game, it is about what Vunipola and his colleagues do on the pitch against a side that have been dangerous on the road this season. Last month, Scotland travelled to Twickenham in more than hope, but conceded more points at the ground than ever before. Glasgow supplied the bulk of the losing side that day but Vunipola does not expect another blow-out. “They have a number of Scottish internationals in their team but they are coached differently and they work with each other every day,” says Vunipola. “They are more in tune with what they do as a team whereas at international level they have a few weeks together. They are a very good side and different teams have different ways of playing.
“I would not say that rugby comes naturally to me. A lot of it comes down to watching matches and talking to students of the game at the club, such as Owen Farrell, who sees the game differently to everyone else.
“You want to do your job in the set-piece and in the loose in defence and attack, but it is about becoming a bit smarter. I like watching Australian rugby league, admiring the skill levels and the lines of attack, and American football. I am way too slow for all that: give me a scrum any day.”
