Any contact from South Africa about Rob du Preez?
“No, they have been relatively quiet through the Autumn Internationals. It is a surprise. I think he is international class at present, he is one of the best performing outside halves in the Premiership and it’s one of the best competitions in the world. What’s their loss is our gain over the Autumn International period. I definitely will pick up the phone to South Africa over the next couple of weeks in the aftermath of the tour to get some feedback on the twins and I will ask them then about Rob.”
Raffi’s injury
Raffi Quirke- Broken wrist, nasty break but operation went well, 10-12 weeks out
“Every player goes through some injury crisis. This is the biggest test of any professional sports athlete. How you respond to this as a setback or as a means to get better. We have got reasonably good evidence within this organisation that we are able to build them back and get them stronger. I have already had a chat with Raffi yesterday about making him super robust so whilst he had his hamstring injury he obviously wasn’t able to work on his fitness, just on his upper body strength. But now he has broken his wrist the one positive if there is one that we can take from this is that he is able to work on his repeatable efforts and his kicking game so he is going to come back better I imagine.”
Importance of run up until Christmas
“We feel like we are in a really good place. We have got the intensity and nature of training right. Within that there is still a need to be battle-hardened, to be game-ready and match-fit. We have opted for the freshening-up approach, physically and mentally, as opposed to keeping them ticking and playing because after the Gloucester game there were quite a few players carrying knocks. Only time will tell; we need to gauge where they are at after we play Bristol where we have had two weeks sabbatical from the Premiership. But we feel good, we feel we are in a good place and everyone is crystal-clear with the game model and what the tactics are for this weekend.”
Injury update
Ben Curry not fit for this weekend’s game, should be fit for Ulster game
Simon McIntyre up for selection this weekend
George Ford still on track to be fit some time in January
Views on Manu Tuilagi’s loading with England during Autumn Internationals
“They have been nothing but brilliant in their open and transparent communication as to his overall loading both in training and playing. In my opinion, am I happy yes I am. I feel like we are working collaboratively really well.
No discussions with Manu about his future whilst he has been away with England, wants him to focus on playing for England
Retaining best young players
“I am confident that we are on track with signing all the players we prioritised in terms of signing and retaining for succession. But as those players increase in salaries as they should do as young players become more senior there is a cuckoo effect where other players will get pushed out because of the restrictions of the cap so there are still quite a lot of conversations to be had. We know where we want to go but we have to finalise and have those conversations in the forthcoming weeks. It is the worst part of the job.”
Recently arrived new signings
“We needed those numbers for strength in depth. Ryan Mills at a senior level with the centres who aren’t here and the injury-prone centres that we have had in the past. He has just fitted in really well; he speaks unbelievably well, he is an accurate trainer and he is committed. So we are going to see more of him in the first team. Rekeiti Ma’asi-White has an opportunity to learn under one of the best in Manu over the next six months. He is like Manu in that he has got a very heavy set in his legs and a proper decent ball carrier. He is only 19-years-old so it is early days for him. He has fitted in and he is enjoying his time here. Asher Opoku-Fordjour out of the three is probably the slower burner because he is a tighthead prop. But the lads are really impressed with how he has scrummed and he has had a couple of go’s against the first team. He is set to play in National League 2 this weekend. Then if he plays well there we will push him up to National League 1 with Sale FC so we have a decent plan for him. What they have done is fill the holes really well and we are really grateful for them. They have filled holes we had within the academy system for the succession. They are probably everything and more than what we perceived them to be.
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