Saracens have no plans to stop their team bonding trips abroad even after the arrest of Billy Vunipola in Mallorca.
Vunipola was fined €240 (£205) after being charged with resisting the law following an incident in which he was tasered twice at a bar in Palma.
The England international apologised in a statement, explaining that he struggled with “knowing when to stop” when drinking alcohol.
The 31-year-old will face no punishment from his club for the episode, which came on a squad social after a crucial win over Bath as Saracens chase a Premiership play-off place.
And emphasising the positive impact that bonding trips have had during his time at the club, Saracens boss Mark McCall has insisted that Vunipola’s misdeed will not change their plans for the future.
“It was a really enjoyable, well organised trip away together after a tough game against Bath,” McCall, director of rugby, explained. “With nothing the following weekend, it was an opportunity for us to connect in a different way and I am glad we did it.
“To travel down to the Rec which is a really hard place to go and get a result, which obviously kickstarted what turned out to be a really positive weekend for the group to spend some quality time together away from training. That’s something that the players look forward to doing as it has been part of what we have done for a long time.
“To be honest, I think other clubs are doing it as well. We’re just trying to connect the group a little bit more deeply than you can sometimes get in your day-to-day work. It was a really positive couple of days despite what happened.”
Vunipola is expected to depart Saracens for Montpellier at the end of the season, bringing to a close an 11-year, trophy-laden stint in north London.
Having featured at the World Cup, the number eight was left out of Steve Borthwick’s Six Nations squad and will become unavailable for England selection if he moves to France.
Saracens take on Bristol on Saturday in their penultimate regular season fixture, and currently sit second in the table in a tight race for a top-four finish.
Vunipola is available for selection and McCall explained that it had been business as usual for the club this week.
“The case is closed as far as we are concerned and we just get on with the rugby now,” said McCall. “The only thing that I would add to what the club has said is that when someone does something wrong, the first reaction doesn’t always have to be to punish that person. Sometimes you’ve got to understand why what happened happened, to support and help. It doesn’t always have to be a punishment.
“I just think we understand that people are human, and people make mistakes. Of course there’s a line, and there are things that you can’t condone. But more often than not if it’s appropriate then we would want to give people second chances, maybe even sometimes third chances if it’s clear that they’re remorseful, that they take ownership of it.”
Article courtesy of
Source link
