Following an internal investigation, Saracens rugby club is poised to refrain from imposing additional penalties on Billy Vunipola, who was recently arrested in Majorca.
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The No 8 player is slated to rejoin his teammates for training at their St Albans facility today, a mere four days after his career faced uncertainty due to the incident.
Vunipola’s arrest in the Balearics stemmed from an altercation where he reportedly resisted arrest and assaulted a law enforcement officer, resulting in him being Tasered by the police. However, Saracens management appears inclined to put the episode behind them.
Discussions among key figures at Saracens have addressed the circumstances surrounding the incident, which saw Vunipola, aged 31, subjected to Taser use twice in a Palma bar during the early hours of Sunday.
Subsequently, he was swiftly tried in court and fined €240 (£205), receiving a suspended four-month prison sentence.
Saracens officials seem to have concluded that the Majorca incident is now resolved, shifting their focus towards the team’s forthcoming matches, particularly their campaign to retain the Gallagher Premiership title.
The current 36-man British & Irish Lions squad for 2025, according to the bookies
We found it intriguing to project a smaller squad based on the favored contenders according to bookmakers’ odds as of April19, 2024.
The Lions will play a New Zealand and Australia invitational XV as part of their nine-match tour down under in 2025.
The historic fixture in Adelaide will precede Test matches with the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
A sell-out at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground would smash records for a Lions Test match.
The series finale will be played in front of more than 80,000 fans in Sydney’s Olympic Park.
The 2025 Lions tour fixtures in full
- Saturday 28 June: v Western Force, Optus Stadium, Perth
- Wednesday 2 July: v Queensland Reds, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Saturday 5 July: v New South Wales Waratahs, Allianz Stadium, Sydney
- Wednesday 9 July: v ACT Brumbies, GIO Stadium, Canberra
- Saturday 12 July: v Invitational Australia & NZ XV, Adelaide Oval
- Saturday 19 July: First Test, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Tuesday 22 July: v Melbourne Rebels, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
- Saturday 26 July: Second Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Saturday 2 August: Third Test, Accor Stadium, Sydney
The bolded players in our proposed Lions squad represent the starting XV, according to current odds.
2025 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SQUAD (36)
BACK-THREE (6)
- Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland) – 1/16
- James Lowe (Ireland) – 1/8
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland) – 1/5
- Tommy Freeman (England) – 4/9
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (England) – 8/11
- Mack Hansen (Ireland) – 2/1
CENTRE (4)
- Bundee Aki (Ireland) – 1/5
- Ollie Lawrence (England) – 1/4
- Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland) – 2/7
- Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) – 8/11
FLY-HALVES (3)
- George Ford (England) – 1/10
- Marcus Smith (England) – 8/15
- Finn Russell (Scotland) – 8/11