England's Billy Vunipola is nowhere near world's best, says Zinzan Brooke

Battering ram: Billy Vunipola powers through the Scotland defence
(David Rogers/Getty Images)
Chris Jones9 February 2016

Zinzan Brooke believes Billy Vunipola has a long way to go before he can considered the best No8 in the world.

New England head coach Eddie Jones has challenged the Saracens forward to build on his man-of-the-match performance in the 15-9 win over Scotland and become the best No8 on the planet.

Brooke, the uniquely talented All Black No8, admires Vunipola’s ball-carrying power but questions his ability to offload in support of runners and that he is not a line-out option, unlike Sergio Parisse, rated by many experts as the top Test No8 and who England will face in Rome on Sunday.

Brooke, who has lived in England for 18 years, won 58 caps for New Zealand and finished his playing career in the famous colours of Harlequins. Having watched 22-cap Vunipola burst onto the Test scene, Brooke can understand why Jones is talking up the 23-year-old. He said: “I have been watching Vunipola closely and he is a little bit fitter this season but at the moment he is more of a battering ram at No8 for England. He isn’t a line-out forward like Parisse, Jamie Heaslip, Louis Picamoles, Taulupe Faletau of Wales or Kieran Read — there is a whole raft of them out there.

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“Eddie Jones has made a massive statement, but you have to put it into perspective and what we have is Jones, a former hooker, talking about the best No8 in the game and it is quite strange.

“Jones has only been in charge for one England game and what does he base that prediction on? Vunipola must be training well.

“At the moment my top No8s would be Parisse, Picamoles, Heaslip and Read. There are a lot of good things with all of those players and you just wonder what Parisse would be like playing on the back of a solid scrum. He is having to do a lot more ball carrying and that takes it out of you, particularly when he offers such an explosive game. I like Picamoles ball-carrying and he is always looking to offload which is something I don’t see from Vunipola and I want to see it from him. He is a good player and is fitter.”

Brooke believes England were lucky to get their first try against Scotland — Danny Care illegally blocked his opposite number to allow Vunipola to drive off the five-metre scrum — and raises an eyebrow at Jones’s reaction to the victory at Murrayfield.

“Jones is a bit of a spin doctor and appears to be glorifying the England boys before they have actually done the work on the pitch,” said Brooke. “When I heard Jones had said England were going to give Italy a hiding that was a classic from him and he can trip over his own tongue. Would he say that before taking on the All Blacks? Knowing Jones, he probably would!”

Brooke (right) kicked a 47m drop goal in the 1995 World Cup semi-final win over England in Cape Town so how did he react to Parisse’s poor attempt to win the match with France in Paris with a hooked effort that nearly took a team mate’s head off?

Brooke said: “Eight is just a number on the jersey and if you have that skill then you never know when you will be able to pull it out of the locker and nail a drop kick. With the Italians being good at football you would have thought he’d have done better.”

QBE Business Insurance is the proud sponsor of England Rugby. In partnership with the RFU, QBE recruited and trained 2,015 new Level 2 rugby coaches through the QBE Coaching Club. For more information go to QBEeurope.com

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