Mako Vunipola will be best prop in world says Saracens coach

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Public opinion might suggest Mako Vunipola was taught a lesson in Melbourne, but Saracens forwards coach Alex Sanderson is adamant that the quick-learning prop passed his test with flying colours.

Still only 22, and having made his England debut in November last year, no one expected Vunipola to make the Lions touring party a year ago, let alone start the pivotal second Test.

But his dream looked like becoming a nightmare as he was penalised repeatedly in the first-half by referee Craig Joubert at scrum time with Ben Alexander gaining the upper hand.

But the New Zealand-born loosehead regrouped to gain parity at the set-piece as the match progressed – and stayed on for the full 80 minutes for the first time in his international career.

Few know Vunipola better than Sanderson who worked with the prop at England U18 and U20 level in his time as an RFU National Academy coach.

And the former England international insists Vunipola will soon be the best scrummager in the world, such has been his rapid development since joining Sarries from Bristol in 2011.

“I’m so proud of him and what he has achieved, it really has been a meteoric rise,” he said.

“I feel Mako was a bit hard-done by in that second Test. He made more tackles than any other Lions player.

“The work-rate that he puts in is comparable to a back-rower.

“The injuries the Lions have had at prop mean that Mako has taken on a lot of responsibility, possibly more than they anticipated.

“But he played the whole game in that second Test and by the end he was winning penalties not losing them like he was in the first half.

“That was against some of the best scrummagers in the world. The idea that the Australian set-piece is weak is a bit of a myth, they’re some of the best out there who have the experience of playing with each other.

“At Mako’s age he is improving all the time. He will come back from this Lions series with so much experience, look how he turned it around in that match.

“He was possibly a bit found out for 20 minutes and he learned. He will be one of the best in the world before long, there’s no doubt about that in my mind.

“Look at where he was last season to where he is now. His scrummaging has come on so much that last season he was dominating people on the European stage.

“The scrum is a kinaesthetic learning process – you have to be in it and feel it if you want to improve.

“There’s only so much you can learn looking at videos and on the machine, the rest you have to learn out on the pitch.

“That’s why being a few years older and having that bit more experience is so important as a prop.”

Vunipola will be joined at Saracens next season by little brother Billy, although the former London Wasp is anything but little standing 6ft 2in tall and weighing 130kg (21st).

With tighthead James Johnston (140kg, 22st), also joining the Sarries ‘wolfpack’ this year they are a fearsome beast.

The new beef is added with the Heineken Cup in mind, a competition that Sarries reached the semi-finals of last year before Jonny Wilkinson and Toulon put an end to their run.

Sanderson is looking forward to what the extra kilos will bring to the forward battle.

“We pride ourselves on having some of the best forwards and we won the Premiership title two years ago with a much lighter pack than this one,” he said.

“But we learned against Clermont a couple of years ago that in Europe, giving away that bit of weight has an effect.

“The new weight with Billy and JJ in the pack will be great for Europe.”

CHARLIE TALBOT-SMITH

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Tagged British and Irish Lions, Mako Vunipola, Saracens