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Mako Vunipola warned England that they will face a step up in class as they face their biggest challenge of the group stage of the Fall Nations Cup on Saturday.
With the Six Nations title secured in Rome and Georgia crushed 40-0, Eddie Jones’s men face the first significant test of the competition when Ireland visits Twickenham.
England have been emphatically winners in their last three encounters, the most recent of which was a one-sided 24-12 win in February that remains their best performance since New Zealand was crushed in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals.
Vunipola, the mainstay of the British and Irish Lions, started two of those three games, but sees them as distant memories.
“Ireland will be a different level. Without disrespecting Italy and Georgia, but Ireland has been number one in the world in their day and they still have a lot of the players who have been there and have done it,” Vunipola said.
“They are also growing with the arrival of new players and that they have an impact, so we understand that these are the games where you want to perform at your best and these are the games that count.
“We can learn from our victories against Ireland, but this is a different team this weekend. Ireland can play expansive rugby or they can keep it tight in the peloton.
“We are under no illusions that our recent games mean anything this week. They are coming to bring their best performance. We want to match that.”
Vunipola is speaking the week that ‘Oceans Apart: Greed, Betrayal and Pacific Island Rugby’ is released, a documentary highlighting the exploitation of players from Fiji, Samoa and the Pacific Islands.
Produced by former Samoa forward Dan Leo, it highlights a number of issues, including the wealthiest nations ‘looting of the Islands’ vast gambling resources and their reluctance to tour those countries or share the income from home games.
World Rugby President Bill Beaumont has proposed that Pacific Islander players still be allowed to represent their nation of birth once “captured” by top-tier heavyweights as a way to help restore balance.
Vunipola, who has Tongan heritage, sees Beaumont’s idea as an imperfect solution.
“I would love to say yes to that, but it is also difficult because it would be unfair for those on the island to see me as an old man going in and taking that opportunity away,” said Vunipola.
“As a Tongan, all I really want for the islanders is a better opportunity for everyone and a better life. If that means I can help with that, I will do my best.”
“There are a lot of people like me who travel abroad to try to find a better life and keep people at home so you can’t take that away from them, that opportunity to play for someone else, representing a different country.
“But I also feel sorry for those who need a chance just to get on the international stage and have a better chance. It’s a catch-22 really.”
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