EMPHASIS ON DENYING OPPOSITION BONUS POINTS
“It’s not an emphasis we put to the team. If they don’t score they can’t win; old, simple logic. That is one of Jamie Langley’s catchphrases. Coming back to last weekend that was probably the most pleasing part of that performance was we could have allowed them a score and still got a bonus point win. They were under the sticks, two minutes from the end, talking about not letting them in, not mentioning league points but for pride. It matters a lot to them.”
SATISFACTION FROM THE WIN AT BRISTOL
“Niling them would have been better! Their try was pretty soft if I am being honest. We looked good defensively and we should have made the tackle on Rich Lane. There is that question ‘when is good good enough’. It was good enough. I still think there is more in us.”
THE SCRUM
“It is certainly not to the levels of where we were at last year by way of dominance. Tommy Taylor is great for us, came back late in the pre-season having not played since February due to injury. He got a couple of weeks but then he got banged and scarred up so it effects your preparation and the scrum is one of the things you have to have cohesion. There are eight people doing the same thing at the same time. Then we go down to fifth and sixth choice hookers for the Exeter game, not trying to make excuses for every game and one man doesn’t make a difference but it does. You only have to be a little bit off in the scrum to be way off. You only have to lose an inch on the hit to lose by metres on the put-in. That philosophy has been justified with the inclusion of Agustin Creevy and Luke Cowan-Dickie. The scrum just got stronger.”
LUKE COWAN-DICKIE
“He was disappointed he didn’t score three tries because that is what he said he was going to do! He thinks his tackle technique is absolutely perfect so he is wrong on both counts! He hurled himself in there, he wasn’t holding back. He was absolutely knackered after the game and showing no signs of any wear and tear or any repercussion of old injuries. He is good to go again and he will go again.
“He could start (on Friday against Newcastle) as he is fit enough. There are obviously smarter ways of re-integration when we have got the strength in depth that we have. Tommy Taylor is over his concussion protocol now. We have got three experienced hookers that we can call on.”
TOM CURRY
“I’m waiting on a specialist assessment on his hip. He has got a dicky hip, that’s the medical term for it. He came in after the World Cup and was alright but as soon as we trained with any intensity he stiffened up and it took us a while to free him again and these are some chronic micro-tears in his labrum. We have to wait and see until this specialist tells us exactly what he has done and how he has done it and what kind of rehabilitation and treatment he needs. It could be as little as a couple of weeks to rehab it because it has shown up well this week; it could be a lot longer depending on how much wear and tear there might be on his bone.
“He was in Harley Street this morning. I don’t think anyone who trains and plays like he does is ever going to avoid some kind of Achilles heel, that’s about the best way you can put it and I mean that in the metaphorical sense. It’s human. He is super-human. Something is going to give at some point and he has to manage it. How you manage it, and every club player goes through an injury crisis, will determine the longevity of his career moving forward, so that is the key and we have spoken about that.
“This is not tragic, this is not career-ending by any stretch, but it is another speed bump in what has been a really bumpy road for him this year. He has got to get over that but let’s look at this injury in isolation and not feel like you are tainted with bad luck because that is what it could feel like for him and then he can get down and all that stuff. His luck will turn. We will put Humpty Dumpty back together again, you will see him soon enough, hopefully by Christmas, and then we will take the long-term effect of this as and when we find them.”
ARRON REED
“As he did in the final last year (keeping Tom O’Flaherty out of the team). Flats got injured, Reedy got a spell and we went with Reedy because we picked players who were on form. That will be the same. It is a really healthy environment when you have got three lads of that calibre who are peaking. He can pick them up off his boot-straps. His hands are magic not just his finishing ability . There have been a couple of tries off the back of mauls which I don’t think many people, maybe Radwan, Murley, are scoring for the sheer top-end gas he has got.”
ERNST VAN RHYN
“There is a little bit of luck because we didn’t assume he would be this good. He is an exceptional player of unbelievable consistency and robustness. We are so lucky. We get the clips, we watch them individually all of us. We have a conversation about it, how he moves and hits. We then have two or three longer conversations about the kind of person he is, what drives him, some of the values he has as a player. He talked about his father. He wears work-rate as a badge and I said you are the one for me. He lived with Cobus Wiese when he was a bit younger. It all aligned; he had just got married, wanted an overseas experience. The fit for him and the young demographic of this team has allowed him to show off his talents and flourish. Him and his wife are very happy in Manchester. It flows into his game and his boundless energy. There was a robust recruitment policy, his age demographic, the kind of person he is and the fact it was right for his life to be where he is and with us.”
OTHER NEWS
Jonny Hill was at Ellis Genge’s wedding last weekend
No knocks, but a few fatigue-related niggles that occur around this time with the run of games
In four of the five games we have started fast it just hasn’t shown on the scoreboard, a focus on the performance rather than the outcome of the first 10 minutes of games, slow starts on the scoreboard not a concern but something Al wants to eradicate for ease of his own temperament and stress levels, there was a calmness on Saturday despite early yellow card and conceding early try
Manu Tuilagi might be back around Europe- Stade Francais/ Leinster games, x-ray on Friday
Bevan Rodd has grown in maturity and understanding of his role on the left-hand side of the scrum, tackle selection is better, we have nowhere seen the best of Bevan, he’s been good and has the ability to be the best loosehead in the Premiership, pushing him to be better, since the World Cup been more purposeful in training, more demanding and challenging of players
Newcastle have a dominant set-piece statistically and dangerous back-three, you take them lightly at your own risk
Sam James in a contract year and we will be looking to retain him
Comentarios