Saracens prop Mako Vunipola has revealed that he has ‘a clear understanding’ of how to get back into the England team following a brutally honest phone call with Eddie Jones.
“It’s different, yes, it’s different,” said Vunipola during an interview with INews. “I think if it was a couple of years ago I would have been more frustrated. The anger bit is gone now.
“I have also got that perspective that I’ve been playing this game for a long time and all you ask for is honesty, which he [Jones] gives to you, 100 per cent. He’s done that with me
“If I don’t play for England again, for the rest of my career, I’m going to be disappointed, but I’ve also got other things in my life that I can look forward to.
“I want to put myself in contention for the [2023] World Cup. I want to play in the World Cup.
“I am disappointed not to be involved but I only wish the best things for them. The boys still in the squad, I’m still good mates with, I talk to them and when we play against each other, it is what it is.
“Someone has got to miss out, I’ve got a clear understanding of how I can get myself back into it and all you can wish for is the best for the team.”
Read the full Mako Vunipola exclusive interview with i’s Hugh Godwin by clicking here.
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“You’re f**ked mate” – Five times Eddie Jones lost his s**t with England players
#1. Dylan Hartley
A knee injury prevented Hartley from travelling to Japan for the 2019 World Cup and effectively ended his England career.
The phone call he received from Eddie Jones was brutal, Hartley revealed.
“You’re f***ed mate,” Jones told Hartley, despite the hooker’s plea for a chance to prove his fitness.
“Even by the standards of the 6am texts he delivers while running on the treadmill, which make the recipient’s balls tighten and the brain melt, this phone call was brutal,” writes Hartley in his book.
“He was effectively ending my England career with three words.”
