Vunipola leads Saracens over Munster

This from the Guardian: . Munster, despite enjoying 70 per cent of the possession in the first half, struggled to create space. Their No8, CJ Stander, carried the ball 22 times but only made 30 metres, while his opposite number – and fellow Lion-to-be in New Zealand this summer – Billy Vunipola, covered 72 metres in his 23 runs. The Saracens prop Vincent Koch was named man of the match for his work in the loose and the tight, as the Premiership side, who were shoved backwards in the first two scrums, turned the set-piece to their advantage, but Vunipola showed how significant he will be for the Lions this summer. It was not just the damage he caused with the ball in hand, starting from the kick-off when he ran through two tacklers, but in defence. There was a period in the second half when Sarries led 16-3 and Munster mounted their final tilt for victory. The crowd, which had not dimmed in its fervour despite a sense of inevitability that had set in when their team had failed to exploit Wray’s absence, roared them on, but every drive seemed to be halted by the broad shoulders of the No8 who, throughout, had no reverse gear. He lacked match fitness when he was here with England but this time he was at the peak of his powers, even indulging in downfield kicks with his brother, Mako. If there was no doubting the valour and will to win of Munster, they lacked the means to achieve it, missing Conor Murray at scrum-half and losing their captain and Lion, Peter O’Mahony, with a head injury one minute before Saracens scored their first try of the game.

Finally somebody notices that Stampkar hardly makes a metre a run. That's hardly surprising, he has done that all season. What is surprising is the enthusiastic support for Stampkar focused only on the number of runs....not on the paltry metres. . Having watched this chap play quite a bit now, I'm still confused by the enthusiasm. He is no different to many hard charging SA loosies.....runs hard into the first tackler, never offloads, always falls down. There is nothing in his game that is novel.....a tough, hard player, not a creative one. . Underscoring the point, Vunipola beat 8 defenders in his 16 runs.....Stampkar beat 1 defender in 19 runs.....one in 19! .