Battering ram Billy Vunipola is Richard Hill’s top man

The modern loose forward can be a man of many hats: specialist, scavenger or even a six-and-a-half.
But Richard Hill believes there’s no substitute for a back row battering ram, and for Billy Vunipola, the cap certainly fits.
Balance remains the key issue for England’s back row, ten years after ‘Silent Assassin’ Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio provided the perfect blend of relentless tackling, shrewd ground work and ballast.
Despite Matt Kvesic’s impressive performances in Argentina, a loss of form and Tom Croft’s injury meant Stuart Lancaster again turned to Tom Wood and Chris Robshaw on the flanks for yesterday’s clash with Australia, and for all their endeavour they possess a strikingly similar skill-set.
But World Cup winner Hill sees Vunipola, who made his first Twickenham start yesterday and turned 21 today, as the answer – claiming he is the platform on which England can demonstrate they have added attacking intent to defensive solidity.
Hill said: “Billy has been performing outstandingly for Saracens, he’s put a lot of work in over the summer on physical conditioning, understanding of the game and making big, powerful inroads.
“England missed Ben Morgan towards the end of the Six Nations, or a Ben Morgan-esque figure so hopefully his confidence will have returned after a difficult period for Gloucester.
“But Billy has been the better of the two No.8s in the Premiership so far this season – it’s the position I’m fascinated to see if England can get sorted this autumn.
“England need their No.8 providing that go forward and that opportunity to get in behind the opposition defence; to allow the backs to play on the front foot; allow forwards to come around the corner without an organised defence in their way.
“This England team started from a position we did, we worked on our defence, Phil Larder took a massive stride in that respect and England in their first Six Nations under Stuart did that but it’s now a case of evolving the game.”
Hill remains the one player Sir Clive Woodward refused to drop and he made himself indispensable, namely tackling anything that moved.
And the former Saracens flanker sees a straightforward resolution to who should join Vunipola in England’s back row, agreeing with Lancaster’s decision to stick with his two closest lieutenants.
“In terms of the two who are the more regular at the moment, Chris Robshaw and Tom Wood, they are two guys who have done phenomenally well during the Stuart Lancaster period,” he said.
“The players follow and believe in Chris. He’s got a huge work-rate and a great amount of tackles and Tom similarly just wants to get on and do his work.
“It’s the job of the likes of Matt Kvesic, Sam Dickinson and Dave Ewers to be putting the pressure on.
“In the same way that people talk about Hill, Back, Dallaglio. But why were we there? Because we were being constantly pushed by Worsley, Corry, Moody. Not for one second did we believe it was our right to have the shirt.
The ten-year anniversary of England’s 2003 triumph is not officially until November 22 but with the Wallabies in town yesterday, celebrations have been brought forward – an apt time then to assess what has gone on in the ensuing decade.
There was the unexpected bonus of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final but that rather served to paper over the cracks and four years later, the dam burst.
Hill however, has been impressed with Lancaster’s new broom, believing there to be numerous similarities between his side and Woodward’s two years out from their triumph.
He said: “Stuart has come in and one of the biggest things that he wanted was to change the culture and the environment which he believed needed changing.
“And he’s gone to great lengths to get them to appreciate, historically, the greats who have played for England and for people to buy into that culture.
“Stuart has done a good job, we look back on some of the things we achieved and some of it was done through hard work, the defensive side of things, the territorial game that was played early on.
“Against New Zealand 12 months ago we saw how complete a performance can be and the subsequent Six Nations the earlier performances were encouraging.
“The aftermath of 2003 wasn’t what any of us wanted and you can’t now legislate for what happened ten years ago.
“But I suppose the one difference is that we were the only team who have gone on to win a World Cup and then had to play on because their season had not finished.
“The southern hemisphere countries had the luxury of a party, celebration, receive the accolades, take a break and phase yourself back in.
“It was a very intense period building up to that World Cup, and we flew back soon after and a number of us were playing for our clubs that weekend.
“That started the cycle when we really were not at our best and the momentum was never picked up again.”
GERARD MEAGHER