MANU TUILAGI
“He has lasted the last few 80 minutes for us. He had two months training with England but not playing through his ban. He reckons the increased, sustained intensity of training he had without the yo-yo effect of matches at the weekend and then having to recover on Monday and Tuesday and the fact that he could go train all week and not play at the weekend has made him more robust. He feels fitter and he looks fitter. He got more touches on the ball. He came off and said he felt good and he thinks it is because of the two months he spent with England. So what was a really terrible and challenging time for him because he was just training, not playing with England, the silver lining is he is now in the best shape he has been in a long time at the business end of the season.”
“I don’t do it alone thankfully (judge the investment return on players). We have a recruitment syndicate who on a bi-monthly basis look at the succession planning of the squad, the strength in depth we have in each area versus salary cap. Robustness is taken into account there. It’s quite meticulously planned through. What do we need for the best benefit for the squad from a playing perspective, which is just one aspect. We needed a senior centre with robustness, which was our priority and we got it in the form of Sam Bedlow. Then as things have transpired and will transpire over the next couple of weeks in terms of big stories coming out, money has become available which can be used for Manu. The other thing he gives you, commercially he is a big name and it’s a big message for what we are building here. One of the biggest factors, obviously he is a great player, is what he does to the people around him; socially, performance wise. He’s a super carrier and the Squadfather. He makes the five or six people in and around him better players for how he interacts with them and gives them confidence. That is an intangible and it is worth its weight in cap.”
“You have to factor that in to your squad as a whole (how often internationals are away). How many internationals will be away during those periods which affects the succession planning in terms of depth. There has been no change there with Manu with regards his international status. That’s for people you are looking to recruit in or retain.”
Wants as many Sale players playing for England as possible, his purpose needs to be aligned with the players’ purpose which is to play at the highest level
New contract for Manu basically there, basically done, terms agreed, contract delivered on Monday, there would have to be a ridiculous offer from a French or Japanese club for circumstances to change but it the deal is basically signed, as of now he is remaining a Shark next season
EWAN ASHMAN
“He has always had a decent relationship with the SRU and Edinburgh. They wanted him to go when he was on loan two years ago. He was a young lad then and it was important for him to get some game-time so that fitted in quite well because he was on their radar internationally. He comes back and they are offering him contracts. I was telling him he is the future here; look at Bevan Rodd and James Harper, these are the lads you are going to be playing with. He was fully into that at the time, at least he was telling me that.
“Then every time he goes up to Scotland to play for them during the international periods, there was an opportunity for Scotland to turn his head and drip gold or poison depending on your point of view. There is always that teething when you come back from one environment to another. At some point maybe we didn’t pull him back in close enough. He assures me it is not to do with what we have done here. I believe him to some degree but there is a part of me that feels we should have done more. His family are up there, he wants to play for Scotland and the Lions and he feels this is his best route for that. Home is where the heart is, I know that, that’s why I’m here.
“Without getting too emotional, I found out probably around Christmas time when he wasn’t getting the game-time he wanted but Akker van der Merwe was in great form and Ewan agreed. When Akker is fit and firing he is as good as any hooker in the world. I said to Ewan if you are playing well and improve certain aspects of your game like the set-piece then it is equal rotation. He got that post-Christmas during the European Cup games. But quite clearly off the back of that it wasn’t enough. He had already made his decision and he felt that moving to Edinburgh gave him a better chance of attaining more international honours. He has mates there who he played with at Under 20’s level. I understand his reasons but I’m gutted because I feel like he is one of our own and we brought him through. I am a bit bitter and I hope he hasn’t been fed mis-information.”
TOM ELLIS
“We are very happy with the young guys we have in the wings, the likes of Ben Bamber and Alex Groves. We think they are going to be good quality Premiership if not international players as they have been through the age groups. They aren’t at that level right now. I thought they could get there. With other moving factors which will become obvious in the next couple of weeks there was a need to strengthen that area through a bit of edge, bulk. A need for hard-working, hard-grafting, honest players in that area hence the signing of Tom Ellis who I have been really impressed with.”
“Definitely (hope that Tom will earn a longer contract beyond the end of next season through good performances).
Sat next to Mark McCall at DOR meeting and Saracens gutted to have missed out and not secured him on longer deal having been on loan there earlier in the season, spoke about need for strength in depth and cited Saracens having four internationals in the second row
INJURY UPDATE
Dan du Preez looks fresh, not available for the trip to Gloucester this weekend, every chance he will be fit for Newcastle game
OTHER NEWS
In contract negotiations currently with Josh Beaumont, just had a long conversation with him just before the media session, in a good place
To his understanding, clubs get injury dispensation for both seasons if an injury straddles two seasons like Cobus Wiese’s injury
Depends who you are asking if contracts mean as much as they once did, he believes signing a contract is giving your word and should honour that, but every situation is different and circumstances are different, Alex still had a year left on contract from Saracens when he joined Sale, cited Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager, there have always been exceptions to the contractual rule, your heart has to be in it, contracts do mean something, people can’t just play for the money
Plans for replacing Ewan Ashman- both recruiting and promoting from within with likes of Ethan Caine and Harry Thompson, hot on the recruitment path, need something in the middle between the experienced hookers and younger ones
Crucial to get your best players playing their best rugby at the business end of the season
Felt that he was too emotional when we reached the semi-finals two years ago, wants to do justice to the effort put in over the last nine months, steely determination within the camp
Ben Curry a little lighter (4kgs) and shorter (1 inch) than Tom, Ben found it difficult to keep weight on during Six Nations due to intensity
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