Billy Vunipola will be available for Saracens’s European semi-final against Clermont Auvergne after being found not guilty of head-butting Leicester’s Mathew Tait last weekend. A Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel ruled the collision was unintentional and has cleared the England No8 to play in Saturday’s game.
Saracens strongly believed Vunipola should not have been cited in the first place, insisting the 22-year-old did nothing wrong. Video footage made available to the hearing confirmed the England forward’s eyes never strayed from the ball and his body position as he drove in towards the tackle area was also textbook.
The Sarries management also felt the 29th minute contact with Tait at Allianz Park was largely the result of the full-back pausing to step over a prone player and stooping late towards the ball when Vunipola was already committed.
“Billy was charged with a strike to the head. That has to be intentional but everyone can see that it wasn’t,” said Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby. “There were enough camera angles to show Billy’s eyes were firmly on the ball the whole time. In terms of being reckless, he goes in in a very controlled fashion. He’s decelerating into contact and he’s in a great driving position. There’s no recklessness involved. It’s just a rugby accident and then it becomes a matter of physics. Mathew Tait weighs 90 kg and Billy weighs a bit more than that. Billy was just doing what he’s trained and coached to do every day.”
Had the decision gone the other way, Saracens would have immediately appealed and sought to have the case re-heard prior to the weekend. Wasps had to play their European quarter-final in Toulon without their similarly forceful no 8 Nathan Hughes, who was banned following the collision which knocked out the Wales and Northampton wing George North last month. Hughes was subsequently cleared on appeal but missed the biggest game of his club’s season.
Losing the physicality of Vunipola against Clermont would have left Sarries at a major disadvantage, despite the return to full fitness of fellow England squad members Brad Barritt and Owen Farrell. Barritt’s prodigious defensive qualities will be invaluable against Clermont while Farrell will feature from the bench having not played since January because of a knee injury. Given Saracens have lost only once in Farrell’s absence, however, they are far from totally reliant on the England fly-half. Charlie Hodgson will continue as Sarries’ starting No10 as the Premiership’s sole remaining representatives seek to replicate their spectacular 46-6 win over the same opponents a year ago. “As a club we admire them as much as anybody because they keep coming back for more,” said McCall. “They respond to big setbacks remarkably well. It’s going to be a tough game, we understand that. But we’re going to try and make life very difficult for them and put them under some pressure in certain situations. Then we’ll see.”
Having lost in the final of both the Premiership and Europe last season, Saracens are certainly not lacking for motivation as they seek to follow up their last-gasp quarter-final victory over Racing Metroin Paris.
Among those hoping to drive them on to an historic first European title is their prodigiously-talented former England U20 captain Maro Itoje, who has just signed a new long-term contract with the club. The 20-year-old forward has already made 24 first-team appearances, represented England Saxons and led Saracens to A league and LV= Cup titles this season. He is also studying politics at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
