Steve Borthwick has expressed his intention to expedite Billy Vunipola’s return to England’s Rugby World Cup squad, acknowledging the pivotal role that the Saracens No 8 could fulfill in the upcoming tournament.
The hierarchy among England’s back-row players remains uncertain as Sam Simmonds, representing Exeter, has withdrawn himself from World Cup contention due to personal reasons before his transfer to Montpellier.
Despite being initially left out of the Six Nations squad in January due to a disagreement, Vunipola is now viewed by the head coach as an integral part of the squad’s strategy.
Although Vunipola is still in the process of recovering from a knee injury that prematurely ended his season in April, Borthwick anticipates his readiness for play in August.
This timing aligns with England’s four pre-tournament warm-up fixtures, setting the stage for Vunipola’s potential participation.
“He’s certainly part of our plans as we go forward,”
Borthwick said. “He’s been an important player for England for a number of seasons and I think he has the potential to be an important player for England.”
The hierarchy among England’s back-row players remains uncertain as Sam Simmonds, representing Exeter, has withdrawn himself from World Cup contention due to personal reasons before his transfer to Montpellier.
Get your tickets to the Rugby World Cup matches at viagogo, the world’s leading ticket marketplace. Find out how by clicking here.
Fans can’t believe how ripped Manu Tuilagi is ahead of 2023 Rugby World Cup
Manu Tuilagi has ensured he returns in the best possible shape after sharing a snap of his physique as he looks to be involved in England’s 2023 World Cup campaign.
The trimmed-down England centre has lost 6-8kgs after ending his guilty pleasure of binging on food.
Heading into last summer, Tuilagi tipped the scales at 114kg (17-stone 9lbs), but has lost eight kgs since.
Pictured in Marbella with Sale teammates, Tuilagi has added a defined six pack to his brute force.
One fan wrote: “That’s 100% photoshopped,”
Another commented: “Tuilagi was always a beast, but now he’s shredded too.”
“I love my food. It is a mentality thing, you probably think you will be alright and you will get through it, until you think about it and you change your mentality.
“Running around for 80 minutes, those 2kgs can weigh you down quite a bit so we thought, lose a bit of weight and that would allow us to be a bit more mobile, a bit more agile.”
BEST RUGBY TRANSFORMATIONS:
Below, we look at five other rugby stars who transformed their bodies to get themselves into top condition.
#1. David Pocock
The Wallabies legend started out as an skinny 78kg teen who worked day in and day out to transform himself, with his size and strength came at a cost, Pocock told Australian Story.
