Inside England star Billy Vunipola’s public struggles with alcohol and injury that blighted career before Majorca arrest
ENGLAND rugby ace Billy Vunipola has been open about his struggles with alcohol in the past.
The brilliant number eight, who seemingly got his career on track with both Saracens and England, appears to have had a blip with his latest misdemeanour blighting his progress.
Vunipola, 31, was arrested at a Majorcan bar in the early hours of Sunday morning and had to be tasered TWICE by cops before he was taken into custody.
The Sun revealed a video of the incident which saw a lairy Billy get tackled by nine cops.
He was later charged with resisting the law and slapped with a €240 fine.
On Monday, the Sarries star sheepishly returned home to face the music.
Billy has since issued an apology, insisting it was an “unfortunate misunderstanding” and “there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody.”
Vunipola’s boozy clash comes after he has previously spoken candidly about his struggles with alcohol.
He admitted he got drunk to numb the physical pain his body was going through after suffering a series of injuries, as well as dealing with the mental anguish of being away from the game.
According to reports, the 6ft2in, 20 stone sportsman was two years sober until his trip to Palma saw him sink four Amaretto shots in a boozy haze.
Complex character
Vunipola has been honest in the past about his struggle with alcohol. He didn’t drink until he was 25.
Stuck in the drudgery of every day training, he also suffered injuries that left him trying out new vices.
Surgeries on a shoulder and knee, plus three arm fractures in just two years left him wanting to find something to ease his difficulties.
I went from not drinking my whole life to having a serious, serious injury at 25 to thinking, ‘Right, I’m going to start drinking’”
Billy Vunipola
He turned to alcohol, roping in Saracens youngsters for midweek drinking sessions that led to the club taking him aside and reminding him of his responsibilities.
That coupled with what was going on in his personal life and brief split from wife, Simmone saw him go off the rails.
“I went from not drinking my whole life to having a serious, serious injury at 25 to thinking, ‘Right, I’m going to start drinking’, he confessed on The Big Jim Show podcast.
“Just before I started drinking, people probably don’t know this, I broke up with my now-wife.
“I don’t know, I was just going through a weird phase of wanting to be that 20-year-old that never got to be that 20-year-old.
“It sounds silly but I never did that. Fresh out of school I was playing for Wasps, on the brink of getting relegated. Even at 17, I played my first game in the Prem, so I never got to just be a kid.
“It sounds ungrateful but I did it at 25 in the middle of my career. It’s no coincidence that all my injuries happened when I went on a bender essentially for 10 months before I went crawling back to my wife.”
He continued: “We ran a tight ship (at Saracens). I was rebelling for myself. Training felt monotonous at the time.
“Coming in everyday, training harder than everyone else, then just coming home.
“Training by myself, as everyone knows. Drinking was my vice at the time and I wasn’t just doing it at the weekends.
“I was doing it on weekdays. Essentially I was getting hold of all the younger boys and leading them astray.”
In 2018, Vunipola gave a frank interview to The Times about disappointing his family and team-mates.
He said: “I started doing silly things, just normal things that kids do. Going out, not recovering, staying up late, all the stupid things that come with drinking, doing things I probably shouldn’t be doing.
“I was bragging, [being] arrogant, things I’m truly sorry for, living a life that was opposite to what I’d grown up knowing, what I was taught by my parents.
“If you burn the candle at both ends, eventually they’re going to meet if you carry on. I guess I got to that point where I needed a new candle.”
He found attending church on a Sunday morning of benefit, and promised he would stay clear of wild nights out.
However, in 2021 he breached team protocol following England’s game against Scotland – going out on a bender in Chiswick, West London until the early hours with Ben Te’o.
The pair were reprimanded by the RFU, with Vunipola clearly needing help rather than a ticking off.
Stand against racism
Aside of his public battle with booze, Billy’s career has not gone without its controversies.
Taking the knee has become a staple in the world of sport as a symbolic gesture against racism.
But, before England and Scotland faced off in the Six Nations three years, the majority of the Scotland team remained standing and six England players chose not to kneel.
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One of those players was Vunipola, who offered his principled assessment of the situation.
He was critical of the Blacks Lives Matter movement, and was angered by alleged attacks on churches during demonstrations.
“What I saw in terms of the Black Lives Matter movement was not aligned with what I believe in,” he said.
“They were burning churches and Bibles. I can’t support that.
“Even though I am a person of colour, I’m still more a person of, I guess, Jesus.”
Support of Folau
Two years prior, Vunipola was in hot water for defending a social media post from ex-Australian international Israel Folau.
Devout Christian Folau posted a picture on social media, which included the words: “Warning. Drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolators. Hell awaits you. Repent! Only Jesus saves.”
Vunipola liked the post, before defending Folau saying “(It) isn’t that he doesn’t like or love those people”.
He then said “I don’t HATE anyone”, before adding Folau was trying to say “how we live our lives needs to be closer to how God intended them to be”.
Vunipola concluded: “Man was made for woman to pro create that was the goal no?”
He was given a slap on the wrists and issued with a formal warning by the Rugby Football Union.
For his latest offence, Vunipola has apologised profusely.
“Contrary to media reports, there was no violence, no fight and I did not threaten anybody at any stage, with bottles or chairs or anything else,” he said in a statement.
“I was charged with resisting the law and, following an ‘express trial’, I have paid a fine of 240 euros. The Spanish police investigation is now closed, and I am flying back to the UK today.
“I will obviously cooperate with the Saracens internal process and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience to all involved.”