CHALLENGE OF FACING LA ROCHELLE
“There is the magnitude of the challenge, double European Cup holders, back-to-back. That brings its own excitement and threat level. When you look at the minutiae of the challenge, they are a big team, probably the biggest team. The trap you can feel into is saying that you are going to move these big boys around. Everyone has had a go at doing that and no-one has succeeded. I think it’s a little more subtle than that. I have been looking forward to it for weeks as I have this whole run of games because it doesn’t get much better than having those boys on your own turf with everything to play for. It is like a knockout game, it’s why you play the game. We have got the opportunity to finish this stretch of 20 games on the bounce on a real high. It could be one of the best memories this group could make in their sporting careers.
“You have to go toe-to-toe with them. When Will Skelton is coming round the corner and Levani Botia is at the breakdown, gloves have to come off at that point in time. We pride ourselves on physicality. We have to go for them, there is no holding back. Speed alone and fitness alone will not win you this battle. You have got to at least get some parity on the gain line.
“They are not just blunt-force trauma. You don’t just win European Cups by just being bigger and stronger than everyone else. They have got attributes that set them apart. They can do that and then they are able to shift, strike. There will be more to them than just physicality. We will have to build some contingencies for what we haven’t seen or expected. You have got to use some of their strengths against them.
“Last weekend we were decimated by injury, even more so by illness in the week. If that game happened on Friday, not Saturday, we wouldn’t have been able to play that game. The lads were on the floor. To see how they dug in and scrapped basically, because it wasn’t precise and wasn’t well executed at times. They scrapped and scrapped again. I looked at this group and thought ‘Wow!’. They have got an energy, resilience and fight about them when the odds are stacked against them to find reserves. That’s probably our biggest strength at the moment. We need to get better at rugby, that’s for sure. There are things in our game we need to improve. Being able to lean into something like that I have seen them against Leinster and then again against the Stormers away from home, when no-one believed we would. Then maybe the tables turn when you have got them at home and we start believing that we can.
“Things I have been mentioning the last three weeks that continue to be a focus; attacking ambition and execution, effectiveness in the opposition 22 when we do get down there and that starts with a pride of possession, just line-outs and scrum wins. We have given over too many in the last couple of weeks which has meant we haven’t been able to capitalise on pressure and territory.”
ARRON REED PICKED BY SCOTLAND FOR SIX NATIONS
“Arron believes it is his best opportunity to play international rugby and I support that. Our dealings with Scotland are positive ones. For other reasons it helps if they are playing for England. Ultimately it is his decision and his career and aspirations. I am always aligned with what the player wants.
“Absolutely (concerned it could be another Ewan Ashman situation), that’s what I was referring to in terms of the relationship with the SRU and the management structure there.”
DESERVED ENGLAND CALL-UP FOR TOM ROEBUCK
“He has been really consistent. I think he has added more of an attacking element to his game, more of an attacking threat to his aerial capabilities which always set him apart. He has added that. Bit more touch on the ball. He is going great guns, he just needs to get into the starting shirt now, that’s the next challenge for him. He is in the picture.”
ARE WE GETTING THE BEST OUT OF ROB DU PREEZ SWITCHING BETWEEN 10 AND 13?
“You will have to ask him. He wants to play. I have spoken to him about it and he is enjoying his rugby at the moment. There are obviously teething periods when he switches from one to the other. We probably saw bit of that against Bristol but I think he was back to some of his best at the weekend at 10. I feel he can play both and I would rather have him in the squad for the most part with everyone fit than pigeon-holing him into the one position.”
IMPORTANCE OF OUR HOME CROWD THIS WEEKEND (RALLYING CRY TO THE FANS)
“The blue smoke, the haze, the chip fat, the odd whiff of sewage refinement on the wind, 10,000 Mancs screaming ‘Sale!’. It is different level. To quote Ben Curry, he believes it is one of the best atmospheres he has been involved in club rugby. Ben feeds off that and he is our captain. It’s visible and audible, the walk off the bus and there is a queue of three/ four deep, 200 metres long, spectators who are wishing us well. We get loads of emails that we stick on the tables for the players the night before the game and in the changing rooms during the captain’s run. We had 3,500-hardcore and now we are selling the place out. It means a lot to us to have a region behind us, to have that gathering support and returning support. The last game was a sell-out. We want to make them proud and give them something to shout about.”
INJURY UPDATE
George Ford trained today (Wednesday), Dan du Preez, Nick Schonert, Tom Roebuck all available for selection
Ross Harrison- Grade three calf strain, eight week lay-off
Josh Beaumont lost 8kgs due to illness on the Cape Town trip, Arron Reed last four kgs, Ethan Caine (who was a travelling reserve) lost 10kgs, most of the squad struck down by illness
OTHER NEWS
Al hasn’t spoken to Steve Borthwick about the Six Nations squad
Players given Monday off (that’s when the squad arrived back home from SA) and Tuesday off, back in training Wednesday, players have come back buzzing
No updates from the RFU on hybrid contracts, tied in with the PGA agreement, not a process that has been agreed upon by Prem Rugby and the RPA, at the moment all up in the air, salary cap for next year not set in stone yet, a lot of moving parts, talk of a 20-year agreement so it has got to be right for all parties
Focus this week on collisions, physicality on the gain line
Gone to two of the most difficult places in Leinster and the Stormers and we went for them on the front foot, disturbed and rattled very good teams who perhaps underestimated us, underdog mentality easy motivation to lean into that will be tapped into this weekend, which is shaping up to be a memorable weekend
LCD's inclusion and Jonny Hill's omission from England squad, any indication on players' futures; "Their (various players) non-inclusion in the England squad is a pushing factor for them to move abroad. That is certainly the case.”
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