CONTRACTS
Raffi Quirke- “We heard a while ago there were offers from Exeter, Bath, Harlequins. I went to him as I do everyone and asked straight up what is going on. He said there were offers but I would never entertain an offer before speaking to you guys because he wanted to stay and play for us. We wanted him to get back on the field and in form so that he doesn’t feel he is being low balled. That was the delay of the negotiations. In the end it was easy. He came back and played just before the Six Nations and we did it within a week. Our challenge is keeping him on the field.”
All retention and recruitment done for this year but only just recently, happy with the squad moving forward, all will be revealed in good time
NEW SIGNINGS NATHAN JIBULU AND MARIUS LOUW
“First and foremost they wanted to come. They enjoy how we play the game and what we are building. They see it as a really exciting opportunity to go on a journey. There is still so much growth for this group given the demographic and these two wanted to be part of that. There is a lot of buzz around us; Simon Orange selling his business and we are one of the best resourced clubs in the land. They [the owners] are in it for the long haul, forever, and players want to come to a club where the owners are not in it just for the short term."
Nathan Jibulu- “I was almost surprised by the maturity, drive and clarity he had around what he needed to do for his game to get into the England team and play well for us. As a 21-year-old that is probably one of the best conversations I have had with a young player. His drive is to play for England and he sees young front-row internationals consistently getting into the England squad from our organisation. He has played with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour], he knows Bevan [Rodd], Tye [Raymont]. He sees them coming through and wants to be a part of that pack which will be the best in the Premiership in a year or two’s time if not the back end of this season. He is a physical specimen, a physical freak, so he fits in with our front-row."
Had a conversation with Harlequins about bringing him in early but they straight batted that one as they did not want to give us an advantage and they said they might need him at the back end of the season, request put in back in October/ November
Marius Louw- “He has got one of if not the best collision statistics either side of the ball, both in defence and attack. You look at that Lions backline which is firing. His work on the inside makes the guys on the outside look better. We have probably missed a bit of bang, someone who can dent the midfield this year. We haven’t found someone who can consistently get form there without injury. This guy gives us all of that. He is a captain, a leader, good mates with the South Africans so he has a support base here. It is difficult to amalgamate lots of different nationalities, shown by our failing of Waisea [Nayacalevu]. When you have just norther English lads and South Africans, their values and hardworking mentality dovetails so well. It is an easy fit for us.”
RETURNING ENGLAND PLAYERS
“The mandatory rest for those that need it is taking one of the next three weeks off. Tom [Curry] is an international player and he is their [England’s] player so they rightly have the dictatorial rights over how many minutes he plays. Personally if I was looking at his longer-term planning and getting 100 caps for England I would be managing the game time and those game minutes within the Six Nations. But he has come back reporting that he is good, he has trained well and will need a week off in the next three. He is on fire and no issues with his hips.
“Fin Smith has rightly got the credit he deserved but I do think of all the minutes the lads played George’s [Ford] cameo was the best. He looked so sharp and silenced those critics about his ball-playing ability with those two assists. I think in the next 12 games he will prove his worth and make a stake potentially for the Lions or more realistically force his way back into the England team.
“There is a difference [between those who played lots of minutes versus those who didn’t]. The toughest challenge is getting them streamlined and back involved, the transitional time and that differs depending on where their heads and bodies are at. They are coming back in motivated. For those who played lots of minutes they need a rest for their bodies. I spoke to all the England lads every week whilst they were away so that when they came back in the transition takes less time. Our head of athletic development went down to England camp to see what they were doing but also to give them the plan for their time off two weeks ago. If they have played 80% of the games [match involvements] they have to have one week off of the next three.”
BEN CURRY
“Not a surprise to us [his performances in an England shirt] and not to anyone who watches the Premiership. Everyone understands the levels that Tom can get to but the wider rugby world that doesn’t watch the Premiership has not seen Ben in the form that he is in. We have seen it week in, week out. Now it is out there and the cat is out the bag! I am happiest for him because it has been not a struggle but an uphill battle for him to get into the England team, to step out of the shadow and he has clearly done that. That is credit to him, how he has applied himself to the mental aspect of the game, not shelving the pressure on him and playing free, in his words. He is playing what is in front of him and not overthinking what other people require of him. Less is more. Him and his brother give you that warm feeling as a coach seeing them win and start games together. That France game was one of his best memories ever. He has come back in flying. For the minutes Tom played he didn’t so for us so that aids us.”
TOM ROEBUCK
“How about him! How about that boy! I rang him up on Wednesday, missed him but he called me back 10 minutes later. It was just like having a walk around the playground. We just had a giggle. He was dead relaxed and really up for it ahead of the Wales game. No hint of nervousness, helped by having his mates around him. England have managed him well and he has come back to us with feedback. He has developed his game and it could have been a masterstroke to unleash him at that time in the form he is in. They have been honest on what he has needed to improve upon and he has done it. His superpower is what he does in the air. He has improved his defence but his x-factor now is his power through contact. He can go on the outside but he cuts an angle, runs a hard line and powers through contact, which has given him an extra level to his attacking game.”
WILLGRIFF JOHN
“He came home to a degree. I know he is from South Wales but he has connections here with the coaches, some of the players. It was an environment he felt backed. He played really well against Ireland, where the expectation was taken off him, which is when he plays his best. The last time he played for Wales before this Six Nations was during Covid which was not a fair representation of what international rugby is. I spoke to him on Monday and we talked about how he felt. For a guy that is still discovering himself and he sees me as a means to help him do that. This WillGriff John has found himself again, found form, found a home outside of Wales and found himself contract going forward as he will be with us for another year. Nick schonert got a long-term injury at the back end of last season. He tracked well and we hoped Nick would be fit in the Autumn so WillGriff was on a short-term deal to cover that injury but Nick did not come back from that injury so WillGriff got the opportunity to stay with us. He has got the group behind and he keeps getting better. Even at his age he is still learning, still learning about himself which is the great thing about this sport.”
INJURY UPDATE
Dan du Preez and Raffi Quirke out for a few week
Nick Schonert and Tommy Taylor still a way off
Luke James out injured
OTHER NEWS
Three years ago looked at succession and not a huge number of props so club went on ‘pop idol’ recruitment search, brought in Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] from Wasps, Tye Raymond from Leeds, Ralph McEachran from London Irish, Patreece Bell developed by us (on loan at Doncaster for rest of season), Bevan [Rodd] developed by us, Tumy [Onasanya] developed by us, all these young lads driving each other, it could usher a new era of what a new prop should be able to do, thrilled and impressed by these young props who are not able to just scrummage but do so much around the park
Invaluable tool to learn mettle of young lads during Premiership Rugby Cup and that is what we used it for, nine debutants in Prem Cup like Jos Gilmore, Seb Kelly, Ollie Davies, Alfie Longstaff, straight out of school and getting first experience at senior rugby
Elements of work-ons- Improve our attacking effectiveness, concentrated focus on getting ball back from chasing kicks, set-piece always king for us, layer details on collisions and wide channel defence
Newcastle definitely improved from earlier in the season, they used Prem Rugby Cup to get some confidence and cohesion, ability to strike really quickly and get to the edges, we have played them a number of times already this season in Prem, Prem Rugby Cup and warm-up
Rob du Preez is ultimate professional, trains, rest and recovers brilliantly, so consistent with how he trains, his body is robust, mentally gets himself in the right spot which is so hard, fit as a fiddle
Proud of the boys in the England squad, some didn’t get what they wanted in terms of minutes, others got their recognition they deserve, to a man they have done us proud and chuffed to bits as they represent the north, puts us on the map so grateful for that, biggest buzz seeing them get international recognition alongside winning cups
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