Viliami Vunipola (born 3 November 1992) is a professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a number eight for the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

side

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. Born in Australia, he represents

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.

Early life

Vunipola, was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to Tongan parents, but moved to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with his family as a young child after his father

Feʻao Vunipola Fe'ao Moe Lotu Vunipola (born 6 January 1969) is a Tongan former international rugby union player who participated at the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 1999 Rugby World Cup. He is the father of Mako Vunipola and Billy Vunipola, and is married to Rev. ...

signed for

Pontypool RFC Pontypool Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in the town of Pontypool, which plays in the Super Rygbi Cymru league. Since the regionalisation of Welsh rugby in 2003, Pontypool RFC is now a feeder club to the Dragons regional ...

in 1998. He was educated at Porth Infants School and Griffithstown Junior School, playing for

New Panteg RFC New Panteg Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of New Inn, in Pontypool, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the no ...

with Joeseph Lane. He subsequently moved to

The Castle School The Castle School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, located in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England, which serves the town and the surrounding villages. Pupils from Bristol also attend the school. Th ...

Thornbury, Gloucestershire Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area of England, about north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census, r ...

, England where he played junior rugby for Thornbury RFC before being given a scholarship to attend

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

Club career

Wasps

While at Harrow School, Vunipola joined the Wasps Academy. He made his senior team debut in 2011–12 season and played 30 matches over two seasons before leaving at the end of the 2012–2013 season.

Saracens

Vunipola signed a contract in January 2013 to move to

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

at the end of the 2012–13 Premiership season. During his time at Saracens he has won four Premiership titles in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019, with Vunipola featuring in all four finals and scoring a try in the 2018 final against

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

. He also helped Saracens win the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

three times in four seasons; beating

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

in 2016 and the following year defeating

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two t ...

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

to retain their title. In the 2019 final Vunipola scored a try in the victory over

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

. After Saracens were relegated from the Premiership due to salary cap breaches, Vunipola scored two tries in the 2021 Championship play-off final as they overcame

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the reigning RFU Championship champions of 2024–25 but were considered ineligible for promotion to Premiership Rugby a ...

to gain promotion and an immediate return to the top flight.

Montpellier

On 22 March 2024, after 11 seasons at Saracens, Vunipola announced his departure from the club, along with his brother

Mako Vunipola Mako Vunipola (born 14 January 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a loosehead prop for French club Vannes in the Top 14 He previously played for the England national team. Born in New Zealand to Tongan parents, he qualifi ...

, as he had signed for

in the

competition from the 2024-25 season.

International career

England

In 2010 Vunipola was vice-captain for the England under-18 team that toured

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He was also a member of the England under-20 side that finished seventh at the

2012 IRB Junior World Championship The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth IRB Junior World Championship, an annual international rugby union competition for Under-20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championship ...

. In January 2013 he was called up to the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emerg ...

and subsequently trained with the senior England Squad during the

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

. Vunipola was included in the squad for their 2013 tour of South America and on 8 June 2013 made his senior England debut in the opening Test against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, coming off the bench to score a try in England's 32–3 win. Earlier in the trip he played in a tour game against a Consur XV, and scored a hat-trick of tries in six minutes. Vunipola scored tries against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested by E ...

as England finished runners up. He was selected for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

and scored a try in the opening match of the tournament against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. A knee injury sustained in the pool defeat against

ended his participation at the World Cup. In January 2016 new head coach Eddie Jones included Vunipola in his squad for the

2016 Six Nations Championship The 2016 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2016 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by The Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 17th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. It ...

and he started all the fixtures during the tournament as England achieved their first grand slam in over a decade. Later that year he scored a try in the last game of their summer tour of Australia to complete a series

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

. The following year saw Vunipola score a try against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the penultimate round of the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by NatWest ...

and he then started in the last match of the tournament loss away to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

which ensured England failed to complete consecutive grand slams and also brought an end to a record equalling eighteen successive

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

victories. Vunipola was chosen for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

and scored a try in a warm-up match against

. He subsequently scored a try in the pool game against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and won his 50th cap in the semi-final victory over

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He then started in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final defeat against

. After the World Cup Vunipola was a member of the side that won the

2020 Six Nations Championship The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England ...

and later that year started for the England side that defeated

during extra-time of the

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

final.

British & Irish Lions

In April 2017, Vunipola was selected as one of the 41

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

to tour New Zealand in the summer alongside his brother

. However, due to an ongoing shoulder injury, he withdrew from the squad on 21 May 2017 and was replaced by England back-row teammate

James Haskell James Andrew Welbon Haskell (born 2 April 1985) is an English former rugby union player who played chiefly as a flanker for Wasps RFC and Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership, and internationally for England. In August 2019 he announc ...

. Vunipola was not selected by coach

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of ...

for the 2021 tour.

Personal life

Vunipola's father is former

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

captain Fe'ao Vunipola and his mother, Iesinga Vunipola, a Methodist minister in

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

. He is the nephew of two other former international players, Manu and 'Elisi Vunipola, who both represented Tonga in the 1990s. His brother,

is his teammate with

and England. Vunipola was arrested and fined by Spanish police following a dispute in a

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

nightclub in April 2024.

Career statistics

List of international tries

Honours

; England * 3×

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* 1×

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* 1x Rugby World Cup - 3rd Place -

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

; Saracens * 3×

* 4× Premiership:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* 1×

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Individual

IRB Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an award presented annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. It is given to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". First presente ...

- Nominee - 2016

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vunipola, Billy 1992 births Living people Rugby union players from Sydney Billy Vunipola English rugby union players England international rugby union players Australian rugby union players Australian emigrants to England English people of Tongan descent Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent People educated at Harrow School People educated at The Castle School Saracens F.C. players Wasps RFC players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights Australian emigrants to Wales 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Welsh people of Tongan descent 21st-century Australian sportsmen