ENGLAND BACK ROW Billy Vunipola has ambitions of playing in the NFL one day.
Saracens star Vunipola has won 29 caps for his country and is in the squad for England’s internationals with South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia.
But, while his immediate focus is on England and Saracens, the 24-year-old is keen to one day attempt to follow in the footsteps of rugby league’s Jarryd Hayne — who spent a season on the roster of the San Francisco 49ers — and try his hand at American football.
“I’m at Saracens until 2019, pushing myself with regards to international honours and seeing if I can represent England. It is hard as a rugby player to talk about stuff like that [future career],” Vunipola told The Times.
“I really, really would like to go away and play something else. I really want to try out NFL, just push myself and give it a crack. If it doesn’t happen then go home. It is a long time until then and my mum will probably read this and tell me to shut up and concentrate on one thing.
“I actually don’t enjoy watching it but I look at it, and think, ‘If he can do it, I can do it’,” he said of Hayne’s temporary career change.
“At the moment my focus is fully on rugby but it is something I dream about. It interests me. Their pitch is so small. That is why they are so particular about movements and where their feet are.”
