BILLY VUNIPOLA admits it wasn’t just his body left battered and bruised from England’s autumn internationals but his ego too, writes Ben Baker, .

However the Saracens No.8 is a firm believer in whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger and has warned England rival Ben Morgan, of Gloucester, that he is not giving up just yet.

Heading into the autumn Tests the England No.8 shirt seemed firmly in Vunipola’s grasp, but things began to unravel in the November opener against New Zealand, the world champions teaching Vunipola a thing or two about ball retention as he managed just four carries in the All Blacks victory at Twickenham.

Things failed to improve as South Africa also left rugby HQ triumphant the following weekend, with Vunipola dropped altogether for England’s win over Samoa as Gloucester's Morgan was chosen to start.

In an effort to force his way back into Stuart Lancaster's plans while back with Saracens, Vunipola suffered concussion against Northampton Saints which again meant he played no part as England signed off from 2014 by putting the Wallabies to the sword.

While Vunipola was on the sidelines Morgan was staking his claim to be Lancaster’s go-to man for the England No.8 jersey.

The Gloucester man scored two tries against Australia en route to being named man of the match against Australia – but Vunipola insists he is not giving up without a fight.

“The autumn was certainly a massively frustrating time for me but at the same time it was also a huge learning curve,” said 22-year-old Vunipola.

“I think heading into the autumn I maybe got carried away with my form for Sarries and maybe I was just a bit too over-confident in myself, not necessarily on the pitch but perhaps more off it.

“Maybe being dropped will actually benefit me and turn out to be a good thing because I have learned so much off the back of it.

“Ben is a very good player and he showed that last month and it is great that we can push each other on. We both want to play but only one can so we will both be trying our hardest to make sure we are the ones with the shirt in time for the Six Nations.”

Billy Vunipola is a Land Rover ambassador. Keep up to date with the latest Land Rover rugby activity by following @LandRoverRugby on Twitter.