Mako Vunipola Starts Coaching While Still Playing for Leicester

Mako Vunipola is easing towards retirement by taking on a coaching role at Leicester Tigers while he is still playing. The 35-year-old prop, a front-row forward who packs down in the scrum, is also working with the club's women's side in the Premiership Women's Rugby league.

He has been thinking about life after the game for some time. Vunipola told BBC East Midlands Today that he asked Leicester about moving into coaching when he first joined the club. That conversation shaped the path he is now on.

Vunipola spent two years in France with the club Vannes. He returned to English rugby with Leicester this season, and that move put his plans to retire on hold. The coaching idea did not go away. Now he is part of the support staff working with Fraser Goatcher, the club's director of women's rugby, as the squad prepares for the next Premiership Women's Rugby season.

On the pitch, he is playing under Geoff Parling, a former international team-mate of his. Vunipola has made six appearances in all competitions so far this season. Leicester were top of the early Premiership table, which is England's top men's club league, when this was published.

For Vunipola, the next stage looks more like a change of role than a clean break. He keeps one foot in the playing side of the club while learning what the coaching job involves. Retirement is still on the horizon, but it is no longer the only plan.