Moment topless England rugby ace Billy Vunipola LAUGHS at cops trying to taser him after ‘hurling chairs at staff’
ENGLAND rugby star Billy Vunipola laughed at cops the first time they tried to taser him after he allegedly hurled chairs at bar staff.
The Saracens player, 31, was arrested in a Majorcan late-night bar and tasered twice by cops in a scene that was “like a film”.
Witnesses claimed on Monday that Vunipola appeared unfazed by the first stun gun shot and was only knocked to the ground when police fired at him a second time.
One witness said: “He laughed the first time they went to taser him, it was like a film, and I heard the words ‘another one’ and the second time round he fell to the ground and the officers immobilised him and put wrist-ties on him.”
The rugby player, who was born in Australia and moved to the UK with his family when he was a child, reportedly threatened customers and staff in the bar after removing his shirt about 4.30am on Sunday.
Cops responded to a call from security staff at Epic bar in the island’s capital, Palma, who said a “big man” was throwing bottles and bar stools at them, Majorca Daily Bulletin reports.
The Saracens No.8 was said to have been unaffected by the first taser police used on him while trying to resolve the situation, with cops stating on Monday that it hadn’t discharged.
He allegedly challenged the officers and flexed his muscles after they evacuated the premises.
Cops eventually overpowered the 6ft2in-tall player, who weighs nearly 20st, and handcuffed him after tasering him a second time.
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It took eight cops, as well as the two taser shots, to subdue him.
Vunipola was subsequently taken to nearby Son Espases Hospital, where he was reportedly sedated and strapped to his bed.
Security guards and cops had to watch over the sports star until the medication took effect, reports claimed.
Vunipola was taken to court on Sunday afternoon and wore the same blue T-shirt and beige shorts he was arrested in.
He was released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.
A spokesman for the National Police in Majorca said on Monday morning that “a 31-year-old foreign man” was arrested on suspicion of a crime of disobedience and assaulting a police officer.
He said: “The events took place in a leisure establishment on the seafront in Palma, when a man was causing altercations inside the establishment.
“The man would not listen to reason and confronted the rest of the customers, and the security staff were unable to restrain him or remove him from the premises.
“The police were alerted and the officers, on seeing the man, who was shirtless and making gestures with his hands, cleared the premises.”
The spokesman said it was then that the man confronted cops and tried to assault officers.
He continued: “The police officers tried at all times to get him to calm down, but the man would not listen to reason.
“At that moment, the man pushed and slapped an officer and a policeman pulled out his electric stun gun and fired a first time although the gun didn’t discharge.
“A second projectile was then fired, which did the job, and it was then that the officers jumped on him and proceeded to immobilise him by shackling him, later taking him to Son Espases Hospital for assessment and arrest.”
Saracens is aware of an incident involving Billy Vunipola in Majorca. We will of course deal with this incident internally…
Saracens Rugby Club
Saracens Rugby Club said on Monday that it was “aware of an incident involving Billy Vunipola in Majorca”.
The club added: “We will of course deal with this incident internally, and will not make any further comment until then.”
Vunipola’s arrest comes after he revealed in a podcast with former Saracens team-mate Jim Hamilton that he started drinking at the age of 25, following his first knee operation.
He said last year: “I went from not drinking my whole life to getting my first serious injury… and thinking I’m gonna start drinking.
“Just before that I broke up with my now wife and I don’t know, I was just going through a weird phase of just wanting to be that 20-year-old who never got to be a 20-year-old.
“It sounds silly, but I never did that.”
Vunipola spent his childhood in Wales and the southwest of England after emigrating to the UK from Australia.
Billy Vunipola's career
BILLY VUNIPOLA was born to Tongan parents in Australia in 1992 and moved to Wales aged six after his dad signed with Pontypool RFC.
He played for New Panteg RFC and Thornbury RFC as a youngster before landing a scholarship to the prestigious Harrow School.
His impressive displays for Harrow saw him picked up by Rugby Union giants Wasps.
He made his first-team debut in the 2011-12 season and made a further 29 appearances before leaving the club at the end of the following season.
Vunipola was snapped up by his current club Saracens, whom he’s won a slew of silverware with, in January 2013.
The 31-year-old has won three European Rugby Champions Cups and four Premiership titles with Sarries.
The fan favourite has scored 145 points in 178 appearances for Mark McCall’s side.
Vunipola has been a mainstay of England squads for the last 11 years, making 75 appearances for the Red Roses.
He made his England debut in their 2013 tour of South America, coming off the bench to score in a 32–3 win over Argentina.
Vunipola has tasted Six Nations glory three times with England and the bitter pain of World Cup final heartache in 2019.
He won a scholarship to attend the prestigious Harrow School, where he was picked by Rugby Union giants Wasps as a teenager.
The sports star recalled being “on the brink of getting relegated”.
He told the podcast: “Even at 17, I played my first game in the Prem, so I never got to just be a kid. It sounds ungrateful but I did it at 25 in the middle of my career.
“It’s no coincidence that all my injuries happened when I went on a bender essentially for 10 months before I went crawling back to my wife.”
Vunipola made 30 appearances for Wasps before signing for Saracens in January 2013.
He made his debut for England on the 2013 Summer Tour of Argentina and has since amassed nearly 80 caps.
His father and uncle both played for Tonga, while his cousin, Taupe Faletau, has been capped by Wales and British and Irish Lions.
Inside Epic Palma bar
EPIC PALMA is the beachside bar that has holidaymakers partying long into the night.
The glossy establishment opens its doors at 9:30pm each evening, with revellers able to dance the night away until closing time at 5am.
Epic possesses a wide-ranging menu that caters to all tastes.
A series of cocktails vary from €10 to €11 – from a Cosmopolitan to a Sex on the Beach.
Party-goers can alternatively fork out €130 on a bottle of Beluga.
While some bottles of rum on the menu set punters back €170.
With a resident DJ on site on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, pulses are always racing at Epic.
The bar features a series of themed nights, including Deep House very Thursday.
