Billy Vunipola vows England will turn on the entertainment factor for fans at Twickenham as 2,000 supporters are allowed to watch their final Autumn Nations clash with France
- England have been called boring, but they are hoping to flourish against France
- The game against France will take place in front of 2,000 supporters on Sunday
- Billy Vunipola says the return of their fans return will motivate them to entertain
- They will face a depleted France side who are missing 25 players at Twickenham
Billy Vunipola says the return of fans will encourage England to turn up the entertainment factor at Twickenham and break out of the defensive straitjacket that has been a theme throughout the Autumn Nations Cup.
England have been branded ‘boring’, but they are hoping for a final flourish against France on Sunday, in front of 2,000 supporters.
‘I watch a lot of rugby and sometimes it can be a bit tough to keep your focus, especially when you’ve got your phone and everything around you,’ said Vunipola.
Billy Vunipola says the return of fans will motivate England to entertain at Twickenham
‘You’re battling with other sports for new fans’ attention. We had an unbelievable World Cup, the game can’t have changed within that short time span. Teams at the moment are prioritising winning and prioritising looking after themselves, especially with Covid.
‘We’ll come out of it and teams will start playing that free-running rugby again.
‘When fans are there, we want to entertain them. It’s a bit like when you were younger and the girls used to turn up to PE and you always wanted to show off. I’m pumped to have crowds back.’
England have been branded ‘boring’, but they are hoping for a final flourish against France
The game with France will take place in front of 2,000 supporters at Twickenham on Sunday
England will face a depleted France side who are missing 25 players due to a dispute with clubs over player release.
But England winger Anthony Watson says that will not detract from preparations for their first final since the World Cup.
‘It is a big deal,’ said Watson. ‘We want to win trophies. Whether it’s the Nations Cup or the Six Nations, it’s still an opportunity to win a trophy. It’s something that when you’re done with rugby, you can say you’ve won. Finals are where you measure yourself as a player. It’s definitely a big deal, whatever team France are naming.
‘Putting our game plan into force is something we didn’t do in the last final. I don’t think we will be short on motivation at all. We lost to France in the Six Nations which helps the motivation, and we also lost the last final we played in.’