ALEX SANDERSON MEDIA SESSION 02/11/2022

Tom Roebuck, Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd all available this weekend having been with England in Jersey last week

One new signing this week, another potentially next week

INJURY LATEST

“What could have been an horrendous day not just in terms of result and not taking those opportunities at the weekend. In terms of injuries there are about 5 or 6 with rolled ankles who were question marks on Monday. I am glad to say that all but Simon McIntyre have come through on the ankles and Tom O’Flaherty has broken his jaw. Everyone else seems really positive. There are still question marks over Akker van der Merwe and Jean-Luc du Preez, but they are out there training today and we will see how they pull up tomorrow with regards to their ankles.

“It doesn’t generally take that long for broken jaws to heal, about 6 weeks (in regards Tom O’Flaherty). Simon McIntyre has a Grade 1-2 ankle injury so should be back for the Bristol game at the end of November. Tom O’Flaherty probably a few weeks after that.

THOUGHTS ON RISKS OF ARTIFICIAL PITCHES AND WHETHER THEY CREATE UNFAIR ADVANTAGE FOR HOME SIDES

“I think there are lots of studies out there. It’s a relatively contentious issue. I think you have to look into the science of it. Last weekend was a bit of a freak. What we do know is that the forces you can generate are greater, the speeds are higher and to some degree there is less give (on artificial pitches). Bigger guys or people with pre-existing injuries on those pitches tend to feel the effects of the increased loading that are sustained through playing on those pitches. Is it an unfair advantage? I think any home ground is and should be an advantage. It is probably a greater advantage because the game is slightly different, a little bit quicker, the ball bounces a bit differently. But I wouldn’t say it is any greater advantage than what Welford Road has with their supporters and how they influence the game or down at Exeter with that wind that blows right to left. It’s not unfair, it is just an advantage and everyone that has their own ground should create as much of an advantage that they can so that they can every opportunity to make it their home and a bit of a cauldron. We are talking about the physical advantage they might have, within every home ground there is a greater psychological element to the venue than there is a physical one I think. For most visiting teams that is what you have to master over the speed of the game and the bounce of the ball.

VIEWS ON WHETHER ENGLAND PLAYERS SHOULD HAVE PLAYED LAST WEEKEND

“I can understand why there is frustration and I can empathise with spectators. But this was always part of the deal and the bargain. We signed up to this in terms of PPS players and we get paid for them. Some clubs think we don’t get paid enough. That might be the case but we get to re-write that contract after the World Cup. Everyone signed up to it, everyone knows the deal going into it so when it happens you can’t turn around and say why aren’t they released. It’s an understood and agreed upon contract. Taking my Sale hat off and putting my England hat on I want them to win a World Cup. For that they need to get load-managed which they are. This is part of the load managing. They need to bond and that is staying in camp and staying in that environment because every environment is different. Undoubtedly because Eddie Jones has formed this agreement he and his coaching staff believe that this is the best arrangement given the time they have to get the best out of this group for the nation so I can see it from his point of view as well.

SELECTION PLANS FOR QUIRKE AND RODD THIS WEEKEND HAVING BEEN AWAY WITH ENGLAND

“It is a factor in terms of selection (Raffi and Bevan being away with England) but also in being young lads, but they are pretty mature young lads as they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t collected and they didn’t know their own minds, but it does have its effect regardless of how good that is here. It is just a shift and a change in cultures so there is some teething going from one to the other. The mental strain has its effect as it would on any human being, just the change causes stress. So we take all those factors into account as well as the loading, wellness, the psychological factors and the fact they haven’t trained with us upon selection.

MANU TUILAGI’S FUTURE

“I have had a few conversations with the legend that is Manu Tuilagi. We are trying and will continue to try our best endeavours to keep him at the club. All the same hurdles, obstacles around salary cap and our ability to keep him because of salary cap and forward planning of salary cap because we want to keep all our young lads as well and there are lads coming through. This climate that we are in and the cap that is part of it is ever changing so it shifts wildly from month to month. We are having recruitment meetings every week and it’s only to talk about the shift in salary cap and how we can keep the people we want and love and Manu is one of them but at the moment we can’t put anything on the table that is worthy at the moment. But that is not to say that won’t change. He wants to stay, we want to keep him, we know that much. At the moment that wasn’t initially part of the plan but it is now. As it currently stands because of the forward planning we are struggling to fit him into the cap. The longer this continues the better chance we will have in the shifting environment to be able to retain his services. We are encouraging him to make sure he gets as many offers on the table so that he can make the best decision for his career and family. The timeframe is on him not us. We are not pressurising him to sign because we want to be able to see what we can do and time in that sense gives us more opportunity to see if we can find a way but as it stands we have got some work to do on it hence why we are meeting every week.

LONG-TERM RECRUITMENT PLANS

“A lot of our recruitment revolves around retention of our existing players, almost all and I would love to keep them all but you just can’t with the decrease in the salary cap and the increase in the wages of the younger players. So at present we are not actively recruiting anyone long-term and I say at present because the climate shifts week to week. We are providing opportunity for the lads we have right now to make this their club of choice for the long-term. And it’s in these windows during the Autumn Internationals and then the Six Nations a lot of these players can put their best foot forward and stake their claim.

VIEWS ON SALARY CAP LEVEL

“There are a few clubs who would like the salary cap increased but I don’t think it is the majority. My understanding is that the general consensus is to make it a feasible and self-sustaining business model. My understanding is to keep the salary cap where it is currently and to increase the gate receipts, the crowd attendance and interest through a 10 or 11-team league.

POTENTIAL INCREASE IN DISPENSATION FOR YOUNG PLAYERS EARNING INTERNATIONAL HONOURS

“You end up becoming a victim of your own success but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You become more attractive to other young players as they can see a pathway through playing for your club to England. They know they can get promoted if they are good enough despite how young they are. Our purpose is aligned with their purpose; they want to play for England and we want them to get there. It has to be aligned with these lads. Then you come back to recruitment about who your number twos are and what your squad looks like when your internationals are away and that requires in itself a bit of forward and succession planning.

“I think that has to be the case (more dispensation for young players being selected by England). I think there should be more reward for clubs producing international players and dispensation with regards the cap so they are able to get a wider squad. You almost get punished for your own productivity. Otherwise you end up just getting South Africans in.”