FEELING AHEAD OF FRIDAY NIGHT’S GAME AGAINST LEICESTER
“Like it is another knockout game, time is running out. I don’t mean time has run out for us to do something because we are clearly doing something but time is running out with this group so I want to make the most of that time with some of the lads who I can now call friends who are moving on for their own reasons. That is what is motivating me at the moment and what I am thinking most about.
“Friday night under the lights is going to be really buzzing, hopefully a nice evening. There has been a building excitement as there was last year towards this part of the season where there is a feeling and belief that we can do something really great, given the rollercoaster nature of the season and how tight it has been. We can feel that so I have no doubt that energy will come from the stands from the crowd onto the pitch. I want the players to make good on some of the language they have been using this week. I am expecting them to perform with test-match physicality because that is what the game requires. I expect them to be cool under some crazy intensity that Leicester have the ability to bring.”
DEALING WITH PRESSURE
“I think it is necessary to talk about it and then to shelve it. It’s there and you acknowledge it. Use it as well to drive your sessions. You alleviate it by having intentional moments in the day which create levity, consistently remind yourself to enjoy it, revel it. Remember to smile through it because what is the alternative, become some sort of stress-head. Actually remind yourself that this is why you are in the game, why you play sport with moments of high-stress and points of memory-binding games and scenarios that make it all worthwhile. We are getting to that stage of the season where we can create some really good memories that will stick with us.”
ASHER OPOKU-FORDJOUR
“He is such a rare talent. He is going to put 8-10kgs on over the next three to four years without really trying because he has got the frame for it. He hasn’t got an ounce of fat on him. That 8-10kgs will enable him as a tighthead to not win the hit and still be able to scrum and get dominance because his core is so strong. At the moment if he loses it he has got to really work hard but with that extra weight it gets you out of trouble. As the cornerstone of the pack first and foremost you have got to able to scrummage as a tighthead. He used to be a winger and you will see more of that. He believes that his athletic ability and intent to get on the ball and sidestep and movement around the rucks is the way that tightheads are going to be evolving over the next few years so he believes he is at the forefront of that. He is the capabilities to be a new-age prop and I believe that he is right. People look at him for loosehead but I think there are lots of looseheads who can move like that but not many tightheads can. He has got the ability to scrum and move like a loose forward. Talented is an understatement.”
TOM CURRY
“He did his first high intensity session with us today (Monday 6th May) and got through it well, communicating and driving standards really well. He is still up for selection because I don’t know how he will get through the week because it’s his first full week back training. We will have a better idea post Wednesday in terms of how his body is feeling.
“It’s really good news. I am surprised at how well he is moving. We generally do blocks of four to six minutes on the really high intensity days and that is non-stop. We measure certain things and one block on Friday he topped them all. He has come back in great shape. His ability to back that up is the question now. He moves so well and talks so passionately, he is a phenomenal athlete, outstanding player. Providing his fitness is ok he is not far away. It is like he has not had more than a couple of weeks off. He has worked really hard with help from the RFU. He has done everything in his power to get himself back probably better than where he was before. He looks like he is at this point in time.
“It is a degenerative hip condition of which he has come through the first procedure which he can. He has done the least intrusive and first operation to clean things out in his hip. In time he will need further operations to maintain his hip mobility and ability to move around as well as he is doing.”
REASONS FOR SO MANY INJURIES THIS SEASON
“We talked about it during the Six Nations. There are a few things. There was a run of games, 21 straight. Retrospectively looking back at how we rotated the team, even given previous knowledge of when the players and the team start to break down by way of injuries. We thought we had it nailed on but clearly that wasn’t the case. The six to nine day turnarounds, rarely are there seven day turnarounds around Christmas, there are short and long turnarounds, some of which were self-enforced because we wanted longer breaks. But in hindsight you cannot get into a rhythm of recovery and loading. It is probably the change in that which the bodies haven’t reacted really well to. I think we can improve on that and we have. We came in on Sunday and trained today (Monday) to make it a seven-day turnaround as it has been for the last four games which is working for us as you can see.
“The last thing is weather. It has been that wet that we haven’t trained consistently on the same surface. There is good evidence that when you are changing the consistency of surface from grass to artificial which we have had to do it increases your injury risk. We have looked extensively at how we can re-condition the pitches which Saracens are doing.”
BEN CURRY
“He is 5kgs heavier than a year ago. The challenge for him to keep that weight on and keep moving as well as he did. You can see it in his neck and shoulders. It helps him in terms of the impacts which is what England want from him. At the moment I feel like it is working for his game and it certainly makes him more robust. I am biased but I would always pick him for England. He has a burning desire to play for England but he understands now it comes down to the subjectivity of the England coaching group. You cannot control that. He is happy with how he is playing and feels he is putting good performances out there. For the first time he has accepted the fact that he is content with the performances he is putting out so the distraction of selection isn’t there. It has been a long road for him to get to that point. Really good for the maturation of our captain there. When players get there they start playing more freely. Although Ben and Tom look the same they are different people. They have their own leadership styles. Their playing styles have probably merged slightly closer together. Ben is definitely more self-assured of his own identity overtly than he has been over the last three years.”
INJURY UPDATE
Ernst van Rhyn up for selection
There are a couple of knocks here and there, not wanting to divulge that information at this point in the week with a few sessions to go
OTHER NEWS
Asher earmarked to go with the England U-20’s over the summer, feedback Al has been getting from international looseheads is glowing praise of Asher at tighthead, Asher playing for England U-20’s due to their needs but Al believes down the line England will agree that tighthead is his number one position, but there are a small number of examples of players playing both sides of the scrum like Thomas du Toit and Coenie Oosthuizen
Wants to say thank you to the departing players, deeper connection with the players than just on the field
Not many more new signings to come, some injury dispensation for a tighthead prop due to Nick Schonert’s injury, which Al is looking into in a board meeting on Tuesday, we have a back coming in, the rest is just retention
The players don’t want this ride to end and want to create more memories that they can reflect on down the line in the future with some of the departing players, this is the best time to find form and momentum