Saracens have confirmed that Billy and Marco Vunipola will leave the club at the end of the season, while Gloucester have also announced that Jonny May will be leaving. The trio have been regulars in the England squad over the past decade but will join a growing number of recent Test players making the move abroad in the summer.
The departure of the Vunipola brothers has been known for some time, with Billy coming on as a substitute in Saracens’ win over Bristol last weekend in his first appearance since his arrest in Mallorca, and is set to join Montpellier Lie. Mako has also been linked with a move to the same Top 14 club.
The brothers have been cornerstones of Saracens since arriving – Marco joined from Bristol in 2011 and Billy from Wasps in 2013 – and helped the club win five Premier League titles and three Championships cup trophy. Like most of their stars, they stayed at the club during relegation to the Championship, but like Owen Farrell, they would leave at the end of the season, marking the end of an era.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall paid tribute to the Vuniporas, saying: “Watching Billy develop into a world-class number eight and a caring, supportive team-mate has been great for all of us. It’s an honor for everyone. He has contributed so much to the progress of our club and on the pitch his instincts and amazing skills coupled with his competitive spirit and physical attributes make him a force to be reckoned with. .
“It’s rare for a player to change his position. Mako’s all-round skills, rugby intelligence and physicality make us – as coaches – rethink what a free-wheeling prop can bring. Mako has achieved amazing results in the game Three Lions tours, multiple England caps and being at the heart of all Saracens has been created.
The pair will make their final appearance at the StoneX Stadium against Sale on Saturday, but Saracens are well prepared to secure home progression to the Premier League semi-finals. Rugby sales director Alex Sanderson, aware that their impending departure would make his side’s task of reaching the final four that much more difficult, recalled his experience working with Marco and Billy. Time – both at England age-group level and throughout his long spell as a player. “I coached the England Under-18s when Marco was 17,” Sanderson said. If he advances, he may compete in the semifinals.
“Mako was on that team and he couldn’t spin a tumbler backwards. But boy, could he play rugby? He was 17 years old with gray hair, but he could play. Even if he wasn’t in good shape, he was in the game. Performance and involvement also showed his ability to read the game, find the ball, and drive on both sides of the ball.
“I remember sitting next to Billy after we lost the Heineken Cup final to Toulon [in 2014] He was heartbroken. It’s things like this that connect you to the players. We got into an argument over peeing in a bar in Croatia. He threw a cork and it hit me in the eye. Ten years later, when I left, he sent me a letter apologizing for that incident, which I buried the next day. Outstanding player in rugby. Man, it doesn’t get much better than this.
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Mako retired last year after making 79 appearances for the national rugby team, while Billy was part of England’s World Cup squad but has never made more than 75 appearances since then. May, England’s second-highest male try-scorer in England’s history behind Rory Underwood with 36 in 78 Tests, retired after the World Cup and is expected to move abroad in the summer. Ahead of that, May and Marco Vunipola are set to feature for the Barbarians against Fiji at Twickenham next month, with other England internationals including Danny Care, Jonathan Joseph, Kyle ·Sinkler, Ben Youngs, David Ribbans and Zach Mercer.
Will Collier, who won two England caps under Eddie Jones, is also set to leave Harlequins in the last 14. The rumors about Castres are closely related. Saracens have also confirmed the departure of Billy and Marco’s cousin Manu Vunipola.
