Mako Vunipola believes more top-level European knockout clashes for Gallagher Premiership clubs will create new Test stars for England.
Saracens, Leicester and Exeter have all reached this weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-finals, shaking off the wider malaise around struggling finances in the Premiership.
Three-time winners Saracens will face reigning champions La Rochelle in France on Sunday, fully back in the big time after their salary cap-breach relegation and recovery.
Saracens' England fringe men like Ben Earl, Hugh Tizard – and even the overlooked Billy Vunipola – can state their Test case with further strong showings this weekend. And Mako Vunipola believes the toughest European games provide a proving ground for international selection.
“It is important for the English game and it is important for players that are in these English teams to have the experience of playing knockout rugby,” said Vunipola.
“It can benefit the players, the club but also give those players that experience – it is massive – and hopefully that then lends itself to give young players more opportunity and seeing them step up and hopefully make the national team better.
“Hopefully having the teams in knockout rugby in the Champions Cup can only benefit at a higher level, we understand. We have got some task coming up but we are looking forward to the challenge.”
Saracens' daunting task on Sunday will grow even tougher should Alec Clarey miss out through injury as expected. The prop's suspected broken wrist is likely to leave them with just two fit tightheads, to go up against one of rugby's biggest packs.
Italy cornerstone Marco Riccioni has thankfully hit prime form for Sarries however, to ease that personnel shortage.
Vunipola admitted the Men In Black will need all the help on offer to fend off the sheer weight of behemoths like Uini Atonio and old Saracens club-mate Will Skelton in France.
“Marco has been outstanding this year, not just in the scrum but around the park as well, with the amount of work he gets through,” said Vunipola. “But there’s an opportunity for other players to step up and these are the games you want to be playing in. Whoever steps up and wears that shirt has to do a job.
“Unless you make them move their feet you are having at least 300 to 400 kgs coming back at you so we have got to be on it with our technical stuff. It is not only weight that they bring, they are very good at scrummaging as well. It is going to be a tough battle but we are grateful for opportunity to go up against them.
“We have to be good technically, but we have to be able to throw the first punch as well. We can’t let them dictate to us by giving them the space they need to move on to the ball or let them dominate with one-out carries.
“There are loads of different ways but the most obvious one is we’ve got to be low and that’s not just in the scrum and the maul, it’s in every aspect of the game.”
