FIRST OFF, MAKO Vunipola had to address the accusation of “reckless and dangerous” play that Rassie Erasmus launched in his direction on Twitter this morning.
It certainly wasn’t something that the Lions prop expected and he isn’t sure what the fuss is about.
The incident in question saw Vunipola pulling Boks wing Cheslin Kolbe back up onto his feet after a contest near the touchline had left the Toulouse magician on the ground.
“I remember trying to get the ball but I saw that he’d gone down,” said Vunipola this afternoon.
“I guess it’s one of those things, in the heat of the moment, you react how you would normally. He seemed to be alright, he played on in the game, so it wasn’t that reckless, was it?
“I guess if he was really hurt then it was a bit reckless, but I just felt like the collision wasn’t that bad. I saw that people were putting it up [on social media] and mentioning it. We were behind at the time and wanted to get some tempo in the game so I wanted to get the ball off him.
“If I did hurt him then I do apologise but as I mentioned, in the heat of the moment, you just react as you would naturally.”
The reality is that Erasmus will have been more worried about things like the Springboks getting mauled over their own tryline and giving up several key penalties in that area of the game.
He will be more concerned about how the Lions got on top at scrum time in the second half as the Springboks’ bench made no real impact. Erasmus will be far more anxious about the Lions’ dominance of the kicking battle after half-time too.
Posting clips on Twitter is an easy way to keep everyone talking about other things but he and Jacques Nienaber need to get their forward pack far better prepared for this weekend’s second Test in order to keep the series alive.
For Vunipola, who came off the bench in the second half on Saturday, and all the other Lions forwards, it was a very pleasing turnaround.
“We understood fully that to beat the world champions, you have to take them on up front,” said Vunipola.
“So we knew the challenge going into the game and it’s no different now. We were pleased with how the game went on Saturday but we understand that this weekend is going to be a bigger challenge.
“What we did last week won’t matter and it won’t be enough this week. We are looking forward to another big Test now so we have to get our preparation right and give it our best shot.”
Vunipola was particularly pleased with helping the Lions scrum to a vital penalty in the second half.
“As a team, we felt that if we get our process right, we can pose them some threat in the scrum,” said the Saracens man.
“The very first scrum when I came on, we tried but it doesn’t always happen in the first one or the second one, it takes a bit of doing. We were very happy with getting that penalty, to get ourselves up the pitch a bit. It was massive for us, just to relieve the pressure a bit but also get us back in their half.”
Vunipola was initially due to miss out on involvement in the first Test but was drafted onto the bench after starting loosehead prop Wyn Jones was ruled out with a shoulder injury.
Jones is still a doubt for the second Test but even if he does make it back, it’s hard to see how the Lions would leave Vunipola out of their matchday squad given his impact last weekend.
Rory Sutherland got the start on Saturday but didn’t quite manage to impose himself on the game, even if he has been good otherwise on this tour. Whatever happens next, Vunipola’s improving form is a boost for the Lions.
