{"id":293868,"date":"2023-10-11T00:56:16","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T00:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=293868"},"modified":"2023-10-11T00:56:16","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T00:56:16","slug":"billy-vunipola-says-england-love-being-public-enemy-no-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/rugby-union\/billy-vunipola-says-england-love-being-public-enemy-no-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Vunipola says England &apos;love being public enemy No 1&apos;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Billy Vunipola says England &#8216;love being public enemy No 1&#8217; as Steve Borthwick&#8217;s men forge siege mentality ahead of World Cup quarter-final against fans favourites Fiji<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>England happy to play the role of pantomime villains in Sunday&#8217;s quarter-final<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Head coach Steve Borthwick faces various selection dilemmas for Fiji clash<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mail Sport&#8217;s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>England are happy to play the role of pantomime villains when they face popular Fiji in the World Cup quarter-finals in Marseille on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>The Pacific Islanders will have the backing of French fans and all neutrals in a capacity crowd at Stade Velodrome.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But England are unfazed by the prospect of having to circle the wagons and forge an us-against-the-world mentality.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about Fiji\u2019s support, No 8 Billy Vunipola said: \u2018I would not say Fiji is their second favourite (team), I\u2019d say England is their first least favourite team. In terms of being public enemy No 1, we\u2019re happy to take that mantle.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are seeing a lot of teams being talked up. There\u2019s a top four in international rugby, apparently. I didn\u2019t know there was a table. We are quietly and confidently going about our work. Our plan is to play well firstly against Fiji and deal with whatever happens after.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/20\/76395917-0-image-a-36_1696966413815.jpg\" height=\"429\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England are happy to play the role of pantomime villains when they face popular Fiji<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/20\/76395941-0-image-a-37_1696966455362.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England head coach Steve Borthwick faces various selection dilemmas this week<\/p>\n<p>England flanker Tom Curry echoed Vunipola\u2019s view about being at ease with being cast as the crowd\u2019s villains, adding: \u2018We had it in the first game against Argentina, the booing and stuff. You looked around and lads were smiling. It\u2019s an exciting time. Whether people like you or they don\u2019t, it doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s just an exciting game; quarter-final of the World Cup. As long as you\u2019ve got your family and friends behind you, which I hope they are\u2026 no, I know they are!\u2019<\/p>\n<p>England head coach Steve Borthwick faces various selection dilemmas this week, after what looked like his strongest XV were pushed to the brink of defeat by Samoa in Lille, before snatching an unconvincing 18-17 win. There will be focus again on the playmakers and attack coach Richard Wigglesworth hinted there may be a change to the 10-12 axis, after George Ford and Owen Farrell filled those places last weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was the first time in a while for them (together),\u2019 he said. \u2018We\u2019ll look to adapt as ever and field the best team we feel can get the win. Things change with the nature of the side, whether you have more of a ball-playing or a power 12.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>There has been renewed criticism of Farrell after he struggled to convince during the Samoa escape. But within the Red Rose camp, there is nothing but admiration for the captain\u2019s influence. The management believe he becomes even more of an asset in high-stakes weeks like this.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/21\/76397539-12616297-image-a-54_1696969703411.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Marco Itoje evades David Ribbans and Courtney Lawes on the tackle bags as the Fiji Test looms<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/21\/76397527-12616297-image-a-55_1696969854620.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England were pushed to the brink of defeat by Samoa, before snatching a 18-17 win<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/10\/22\/76400157-12616297-image-a-20_1696973580758.jpg\" height=\"456\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fiji were beaten by Portugal in their last pool match but will be the fans&#8217; favourites when they play England<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s a winner,\u2019 said Wigglesworth. \u2018That is Owen. Under the harshest of pressures and biggest of moments, he tends to get better. That is a sign of a winner. He has more of an impact on the people around him as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We know what\u2019s said about him. He\u2019s the highest-ever points-scorer for England, delivers time and again, and those players tend to catch the most flak. We\u2019ve got one of the best. We\u2019re lucky to have him. He will have a massive impact on this week and this game.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Much of the talk yesterday was about the breakdown threat posed by Fiji and their supreme veteran flanker, Levani Botia.<\/p>\n<p>Vunipola said: \u2018It\u2019s not just him (Botia). They\u2019ve got other threats in terms of jackalers. They\u2019ve got (Josua) Tuisova, their nine loves a dabble. They are one of the biggest threats around the breakdown in world rugby.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12616297\/Billy-Vunipola-says-England-love-public-enemy-No-1-Steve-Borthwicks-men-forge-siege-mentality-ahead-World-Cup-quarter-final-against-fans-favourite-Fiji.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Billy Vunipola says England &#8216;love being public enemy No 1&#8217; as Steve Borthwick&#8217;s men forge siege mentality ahead of World Cup quarter-final against fans favourites Fiji England happy to play the role of pantomime villains in Sunday&#8217;s quarter-final Head coach Steve Borthwick&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Billy Vunipola says England &amp;apos;love being public enemy No 1&amp;apos; 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