THERE has been a suggestion from the Harlequins scrum coach, Adam Jones, that Billy Vunipola failed to make the 2021 Lions squad because Warren Gatland holds a grudge.
According to the ‘Hair Bear’ the grudge goes back to the 2017 tour of New Zealand when the England No.8 – who missed it through injury – latched on to Sean O’Brien’s criticism of Gatland’s management style after the drawn series, and added fuel to the fire by saying that if Eddie Jones had been coach, “they would have won 3-0”. My take on it is that if Gatland thought that big Billy would help the Lions to a series victory over South Africa this summer he would be in the squad, bar nothing.