England
Vunipola's demons a thing of the past
ESPN Staff
January 9, 2015
Billy Vunipola will hope to play a role for England in the Six Nations © Getty Images
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Saracens No.8 Billy Vunipola believes he has overcome the psychological barriers that prevented him from finding his best form on the international stage.

Vunipola started the autumn Test series as England's first choice No.8 but by the time they knocked over Australia, he was out of the mix with Ben Morgan establishing himself as one of the standout players of the November games. But over the past few games at domestic level there have been signs that Vunipola is re-finding his best form.

In an interview with The Times, Vunipola says he saw Morgan take his chance and said his Gloucester rival had the confidence to carry the ball with physicality and make dents in the opposition defence. For Vunipola, being dropped, conversely, came as a relief.

"When I got sent home [from the England camp], it was like a huge sigh of relief," Vunipola said. "No more stress on me, no more pressure with people thinking I've got to do this or that.

"It had been tough to be in that environment and be questioned by everyone for everything I was doing. It was quite tough personally because I was questioning myself if I was still good enough."

On Friday night he will come up against Morgan. For Vunipola he is now back to near his best and he is playing without any concerns, a realisation which came in his first match back for Saracens after being dropped by Stuart Lancaster.

"I just played my normal game," he said. "And I realised then and there that I needed to stop overthinking things, that I didn't need to stress about anything. Playing for England on the world stage had consumed me and I shouldn't let it do that."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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