It’s been a baptism of fire for Vannes in their first season in the Top 14. One win from their first seven fixtures leaves them bottom of the table.
They opened the season by hosting the European and French champions, Toulouse, and the next week travelled to Paris to take on Stade Francais, semi-finalists in last season’s Top 14. They’ve since had away days at Toulon, Montpellier and Clermont.
The fixtures ease before Christmas with matches against Perpignan, Castres, Bayonne and Pau, but for Vannes this season it’s all about survival. If they get a foothold in the top flight, the money and the big names will keep coming.
Few of the names, however, are likely to be bigger than Mako Vunipola, who signed for Vannes in the summer after 13 seasons with Saracens. In that time he won three Champions Cups and five Premiership titles; he also appeared 79 times for England and played in nine Lions’ Tests, including the series win in Australia and the drawn series in 2017 against the All Blacks.
Mako Vunipola left Saracens after 13 years and 229 appearances in the summer (Photo David Rogers/Getty Images)
No wonder the local press were so excited when the 33-year-old loosehead prop was unveiled in the summer on a two-year-contract. One newspaper ran a ‘Five things to know about Mako Vunipola’ and he’s lived up to his billing, even scoring Vannes’ first try in the Top 14 in the defeat to Toulouse.
Jean-Noel Spitzer, the manager of Vannes, recently spoke of the impact Vunipola has had on the squad. Acknowledging his force in the scrum, Spitzer nonetheless said: ‘His greatest strength is his movement around the pitch…a mix of intelligence and experience which means he is often in the right place at the right moment’.
‘It’s been great,’ is how Vunipola sums up the first few months in Brittany. ‘The family has settled, we’ve found a house, we’re close to the sea, and the best thing is there is a great group at the club. That has made the transition easier. Vannes isn’t a big city, which I like, as I’m not a fan of big cities.’
My role is first and foremost to be as good a player as I can, but also to share some of the experience that I’ve amassed in my career.
Vannes may have won only once in their first seven matches but morale remains strong. They’ve picked up defensive bonus points in three games, losing by three points to Stade Francais and Racing 92, and two to Montpellier. They’ve shown that they won’t be the league’s whipping boys.
‘The feeling around the squad is that we’re building and we can see we’re improving,’ says Vunipola. ‘It can be a little disheartening, being so close and not getting the wins, but we’ve played some of the best teams in the league and they’ve shown some of the qualities that we need to learn. The main thing is to keep improving week on week.’
For Vunipola, it’s a novel experience playing for a club where the aim isn’t to win titles but to avoid relegation. ‘When I left Saracens I wanted a different challenge and this is different,’ he says. ‘I’m enjoying the difference. It’s refreshing and I enjoy being with a young group which is trying to learn as much as they can. My role is first and foremost to be as good a player as I can, but also to share some of the experience that I’ve amassed in my career.’
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The honour is ours, @Mako_Vunipola 🫶#YourSaracens💫 pic.twitter.com/VQN87hLR7w
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) June 3, 2024
A handful of the Vannes squad have international experience but only fellow prop Santiago Medrano is a seasoned tier one Test player, having won 34 caps for Argentina.
Others are what one could respectfully describe as good solid journeyman players, and some are young and upcoming. Among the latter is 22-year-old Thomas Moukoro, a France U20 loosehead prop, who is on loan from Racing 92. He usually comes on for Vunipola in the final quarter of matches, but it’s on the training park where he’s benefiting most from the Englishman’s guidance. ‘On a day-to-day basis, I draw inspiration from him,’ explained Moukoro recently. ‘I ask him questions, and it’s very motivating. He’s always been my boss when it comes to scrummaging, so he gives me little tips, and I also ask him for feedback on what I’m doing.’
Vunipola says he enjoys mentoring the younger players. ‘I’ve grown into it as I’ve got older, sharing advice and giving tips where I can,’ he explains. ‘The hard thing is the language. The coaches here at great, they try to speak in English to me as much as I can. During games it’s probably easier because we all speak the same language in terms of rugby; but during the week, and preparing the week, I try to figure out how best I can help.’
Lunch is a big thing in France and you have a proper two-hour break. I think it’s something we need to adjust to in England. It’s a good time, not just because you have a rest, but you can socialise and get to know your teammates better.
But Vunipola is also learning on the job, adapting to his new environment. There is an adjustment to be made between scrummaging in the English premiership and scrummaging in the Top 14. ‘I wouldn’t say they are massive but there are little differences,’ he says. ‘The main one is the size of some of the packs you come up against; they are bigger than you get in the Premiership. I’m not saying there is less quality in the Premiership than in the Top 14 but there are some world class props in the Top 14.’
Vunipola has an interesting observation about the physicality of the respective championships. ‘In the Premiership I would say there is more consistency in terms of physicality; in the Top 14, it comes in waves. So, for example, you go through a couple of phases and you think ‘this is okay, and then suddenly you get this surge of pure physicality, not just in the forwards but some of the backs as well.It is the same with the game breakers. The game slows down and then one thing happens and off they go. The flair in some of the teams is probably different to what you get in the Premiership.’
Off the field, there are also differences. ‘Lunch is a big thing in France and you have a proper two-hour break,’ says Vunipola. ‘I think it’s something we need to adjust to in England. It’s a good time, not just because you have a rest, but you can socialise and get to know your teammates better.’
Mako Vunipola won 79 caps for England and toured with the Lions on three occasions (Photo by Dan Mullan/ Getty Images)
While Mako adapts to life in France, so does his younger brother, Billy, who is at the other end of the country in Montpellier. The pair caught up earlier this month, the day before Montpellier hosted Vannes. It was the second time that the brothers have clashed on a rugby field (the first time was in 2013 when Billy was playing for Wasps), and it was for Mako ‘a strange feeling been on different sides’.
Montpellier won 26-24, and Billy had a blinder at No 8. He must have been out to impress his big brother.
Some will lift silverware at the end of the season, but not Mako Vunipola. The challenge is different, but it’s exciting and invigorating all the same, and it’s breathing fresh life into the legs of an England legend.
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