©PA
Saracens’ England international Billy Vunipola says he wants to make use of every game opportunity to prepare himself for the upcoming international season.
The 28-year-old was the only England international to feature for Saracens in their Trailfinders Challenge Cup against Ealing and he went on to play all 80 minutes in the game which was his first since the Autumn Nations Cup.
With Saracens handed an automatic relegation last year for a series of salary cap breaches last year, Mark McCall’s side are set to feature in the second tier Championship which is on a suspension since 6th March.
While Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell, Mako Vunipola and Jamie George are involved in training programme to prepare themselves for the Six Nations opener against Scotland next month, Billy wants to have more game time to get back into shape.
“Firstly I’d rather play than train. I can’t get my head around training all the time as it’s not my goal,” Vunipola said.
“I really enjoy playing and being around the boys and also having something to look forward to at the end of the week. I’m a very emotional person so that brings me up as well.
“Also, I’ve been injured a lot so I want to take advantage of every game I get, every opportunity to toughen my body up to be ready for whatever comes in the future.
“I’ve been out for a few months consecutively and for me personally I feel the more I play the better my body is at adapting to the rigours of the game.”
Vunipola has played 56 Tests for England since his international debut in 2013 and had represented the red rose team in the 2015 and 2019 World Cup campaigns.
