Mako Vunipola

Mako Vunipola is one of the greatest players to ever wear an England shirt. A permanent fixture for the national side ever since his debut in 2012, he’s a powerful player who has won almost every trophy available to him.

Born in New Zealand on 14 January 1991, Mako Vunipola spent most of his childhood in Wales. Alongside his brother Billy, he started playing at New Panteg RFC before he moved to Gloucestershire. From there, he began his professional playing career at Bristol Bears, where his loose play was described as ‘outstanding’.

Due to his success at Bristol, Mako Vunipola only played for the club for one season. At the end of his inaugural campaign, he was signed by then-Premiership champions Saracens, who he has represented ever since. Since he first signed for the club in 2011, he has won four Premiership titles and has lifted the Heineken Champions Cup on three occasions.

Thanks to his form for Saracens, Mako Vunipola was first selected for the England national side in 2012. Ever since, he’s been a mainstay for the side and has gained more than 65 caps. During his time representing England, he’s won the Six Nations Championship on multiple occasions and played in the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

In addition, during his career, he’s also featured on two British and Irish Lions tours (2013 and 2017). On both tours, he played in all three tests. On top of this, in May 2021, it was also announced that Mako Vunipola had made the squad for the British Lions tour of South Africa. This will represent his third tour with the team. 

With many years of elite level rugby ahead of him, we can’t wait to see what else Mako Vunipola can achieve in the game.