Jamie George backs ‘driven’ Billy Vunipola to thrive on England return

Billy Vunipola has been backed to capitalise on his England reprieve in the forthcoming series against Australia and is ready to make up for the pain inflicted by being dropped by Eddie Jones for more than a year, according to Jamie George.

Vunipola is hoping for a first Test appearance since March 2021 in Saturday’s opening Test in Perth, having earned a recall for his form in guiding Saracens to this season’s Premiership final and benefiting from injuries to Alex Dombrandt and Sam Simmonds.

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George initially suffered a similar fate to Vunipola when he too was dropped at the start of the season and, while injuries led to a swift recall, he has been able to empathise with the No 8’s extended exile. The Saracens hooker revealed he had spoken to his clubmate in detail over the pain of being dropped by England but believes Vunipola is ready to make his presence felt when he makes his international return.

“Billy was hurting, I don’t think he will mind me saying that,” said George. “He loves playing for England. He loves playing at the top level. He is probably the most competitive person I have ever come across. He wants to compete against the best and show that he can be the best. What better opportunity than against Australia on their home turf?

“He has always been driven. The way that he leads at Saracens is different. He leads from the front. He works incredibly hard. He is constantly wanting to evolve his game. I know that it hurt him not being involved in this. I have spoken to him at length about it. He was upset. This is where he wants to be. I am hugely excited to see him back in the Test arena because this is where