England happy being ‘first least-favourite team’ says Billy Vunipola ahead of World Cup quarter-final with Fiji

England number eight Billy Vunipola is adamant that they are comfortable being cast as the pantomime villains ahead of Sunday’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Fiji in Marseille.

The Red Rose and the Flying Fijians are set to face off at Stade Velodrome with the Pacific Islanders seen as the darlings of the global showpiece and adopting the role of everyone’s second favourite team due to their exciting style of play and underdog status.

‘Ready to spoil the party’

Neutral fans will be supporting Fiji but Vunipola revealed that England are ready to spoil the party and in the process challenge the perception that only France, New Zealand, Ireland or South Africa were capable of winning the World Cup.

“I would not say Fiji is their second favourite, I would say England is their first least-favourite team,” he said.

“In terms of being public enemy number one, we are happy to take that mantle.

“We are seeing a lot of teams being talked up. Apparently there’s a top four in international rugby. I didn’t know that there was a table. We are quietly going about our work and confidently going about our work.

“Our plan is to play well firstly against Fiji and deal with whatever happens after that, after Fiji.”

The Red Rose expect Fiji to be competitive at the breakdowns and want Sunday’s referee Mathieu Raynal to clarify how he will be refereeing the contest on the floor.

England boss Steve Borthwick has spoken about the numerous breakdown penalties which Fiji have won so far at the World Cup – they were awarded 11 in their pool victory over Australia alone – and their sheer volume of jackal attempts.

Leading the charge for Simon Raiwalui’s troops is openside Levani Botia, who Vunipola identified as a major threat.

“The best thing about him is his technique. He’s got a very low centre of gravity. As a former 12 who has been repositioned to seven, he’s very fast around making the decision whether to go for the ball or not,” Vunipola said.

“Again, it’s his height. If you give him an opportunity it becomes tough, but it’s not just him. They’ve got other threats in terms of jackallers.”

England’s playmaking dilemma

England are set to name their matchday squad on Friday and the most intriguing aspect is the fly-half duel between George Ford and Owen Farrell.

Ford won man-of-the-match awards against Argentina and Japan and is the form 10, but Farrell is the squad’s captain and talisman.

The duo were in the same starting line-up against Samoa on Saturday – with Ford lining up at fly-half and Farrell at inside centre – but they lacked creativity amid a poor team performance and the experiment of reviving their partnership could be over.

“Owen’s a winner. That term gets thrown around quite a bit but that’s Owen. Under the harshest of pressures and biggest of moments, he tends to get better,” said England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.

“That is a sign of a winner. He doesn’t just get better but has more of an impact on the people around him as well. We know what gets said about Owen.

“He’s the highest ever points-scorer for England, delivers time and time again and those players tend to catch the most flak for some reason.

“We’re lucky to have him. He will no doubt have a massive impact on this week and this game.”

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