Why slim-line Billy Vunipola is now worth the weight
The Wasps No.8 has been one of the standout performers in the Premiership this season, with his powerful running and soft hands making him a potential candidate to fill the troublesome spot at the back of the England scrum.
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However the 19-year-old revealed that cutting out evening meals of chocolates and snacks consisting of four slices of toast have helped him drop to a fighting weight of 129kg (20st 5lb).
He told The Rugby Paper: “I’ve lost a bit of weight over the summer which helps a lot with my fitness. I’m doing the same thing but more of it. Last year I was probably only good for 50 minutes and within those 50 minutes I would be good for one phase and out for two.
“This season I’m in for one, out for one, I’d like to think so anyway. It was a general thing from the top that if you want to play Premiership at No.8 then you’ve got to lose the pounds and I’m happier for it. It was tough, I’m not going to lie.
“I’m much happier playing and much happier on the pitch. It was my diet that was the problem. I was training hard but when I got off the pitch I just let go.
“I think sometimes I’d think I’d lost more than I did in training which I hadn’t but then I’d eat more than I should. I wasn’t really losing weight, just maintaining it or putting it on. That was the big thing.
“The little treats like chocolates wouldn’t be treats, they would be my main meal. I’d overload my plate with potatoes and starchy stuff, or even eat bread rather than snacking on nuts.
“I’d eat four pieces of toast so I’ve stopped doing that. My weight is ok now but I still want to lose a bit.
“At the moment I’m at 129 kilos but I’d like to get down to about 126. I don’t want to lose so much that I’m getting smashed around the pitch.
“The speed makes up for it. I’m into contact quicker than I was, and staying in the contact for longer.
“Before I’d hit the contact and I’d hit the opposition and go down but now I put in a bit of a leg drive, even when I’m tired rather than just falling over. We’ve worked a lot on it in the summer and it’s paying off at the moment.”
Vunipola’s elder brother Mako, 21, has been impressing for Saracens this season – so much so that he earned a call-up to the England Saxons last month. Billy revealed that Mako had also been on a very different weight loss programme this summer which had been instrumental in his improved performances.
The famous family does not stop there, with Wales No.8 Toby Faletau also related, and Billy admits that going head-to-head with his good mate in the Amlin Cup last weekend gave him an idea of what it will be like on November 4 when Wasps visit Vicarage Road.
He said: “Toby and I grew up together. Our parents came over (from Tonga) at the same time. Because we’re a small community we lived together for a bit and when our dads went back for camps for the 1999 World Cup we went to school for a bit as well in Ebbw Vale.
“I know him quite well so it was weird playing against him. I didn’t go out to try to smash him. If he ran at me I’d tackle him but not with that intensity I’d hit someone else with just because he’s my guy. It’s like playing against my brother.”
But when he plays against his real brother, Billy will have other family worries.
“My mum has already given me and my brother a warning to keep out of each others’ way,” he said.
“She said if I hit him she’ll hit me, and if he hits me then she’ll hit him. I’m probably more scared of her hitting me.
“But Mako and me talk to each other to catch up on things, how he’s going and how I’m going. He’s quite interested in how the club is and what the club situation means for me. He’s really helpful with the off-field stuff.
“He had a tough year with injuries but after losing the weight, because he’s lost quite a bit as well, he’s playing much better. I hope for him he keeps going, though not too much for Saracens.
“He actually went home to my parents in the summer and my dad told him to go running and all that sort of stuff which he did.
“He came back into pre-season fitter and lighter and they carried it on, so you can see the positive effects it’s had on his game.”
PAUL EDDISON
