With England facing Samoa in their final Pool match, Billy Vunipola has no doubt that Manu Tuilagi, whose brothers represented Samoa, will be in line for some big hits
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“I know for a fact that the Samoan boys, as much as they respect and hold Manu in high regard for what he has done for exposure in his heritage, they will want to go after him,” Vunipola said.
“Everyone knows Manu can look after himself. We will be right next him trying to help as much as we can.
“It happened the last World Cup against Tonga when I remember getting put on my backside and I remember looking up and everyone was cheering on the side of the pitch like they won the game.
“If I were to put myself in a Tongan shirt I would think let’s go get this Tongan kid or who thinks he’s a Tongan kid even if he is on the other side. I still remember the image of them cheering on the bench and it made me laugh.
“That’s the challenge for us is how we can negate their physical attributes in a game that they want to be physical and they will be emotionally charged. We have to be ready for that onslaught of energy, physicality and also the durability to ride those waves against a team like Samoa who are going to bring all of that.”
England and Samoa have faced off in eight matches, with England boasting a flawless record, having emerged victorious in every encounter.
In their latest non-World Cup encounter, which took place during the 2017 autumn internationals at Twickenham, England dominated with a commanding 48-14 triumph over Samoa.
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Scotland have more foreign-born players in their squad than any other tier one nation
These individuals qualify for their respective teams through various means, including ancestry connections or the five-year residency rule, which was extended by two years following the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Italy, for instance, boasts a third of its squad comprised of overseas-born players, and Wales closely follows suit.
Check out Stuff’s full ranking below from most to fewest.
Scotland (15)
WP Nel (South Africa), Pierre Schoeman (South Africa), Javan Sebastian (England), Ewan Ashman (Canada), Sam Skinner (England), Jack Dempsey (Australia), Hamish Watson (England), Ali Price (England), Ben White (England), Ben Healy (Ireland), Chris Harris (England), Cameron Redpath (France), Sione Tuipulotu (Australia), Kyle Steyn (South Africa), Duhan van der Merwe (South Africa).
Italy (11)
Ivan Nemer (Argentina), Hame Faiva (New Zealand), Dino Lamb (England), David Sisi (Germany), Toa Halafihi (New Zealand), Sebastian Negri (Zimbabwe), Martin Page-Relo (France), Juan Ignacio Brex (Argentina), Ange Capuozzo (France), Monty Ioane (Australia), Paolo Odogwu (England),
Wales (10)
Taulupe Faletau (Tonga), Tomas Francis (England), Dan Lydiate (England), Will Rowlands (England), Henry Thomas (England), Christ Tshiunza (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Gareth Anscombe (New Zealand), George North (England), Nick Tompkins (England), Johnny Williams (England),