GEORGE FORD
Will he be fit for Friday’s game against Bath- “No, much to our disappointment and frustration. There’s nothing askew in his rehabilitation schedule, it is on track. I have been reprimanded by our head of the medical department that as yet he has not gone above peak game intensity. It would be foolhardy to try and push him into a game when we haven’t seen how his body will react to above peak game intensity. We are very confident that he is not going to re-injure. With a soft tissue injury it would be unbelievably frustrating when he is a week or two away from a seven month rehabilitation programme. Bringing him back a week early and risking a soft tissue injury would be more frustrating than the fact that we can’t see him out there in a blue shirt this weekend.”
“We will play him as soon as we can. We want to get him back into the Six Nations squad. So the earlier the gains confidence and Steve Borthwick can see him with the ball in his hands the sooner he will be in there. That opens up the possibility of Bristol away in the Prem Rugby Cup next week and whoever we have in the semi-finals the week after.
“I am going to get a call off Steve Borthwick next week because he will be up for selection. I spoke to him last week and he said as soon as he is available to play let’s chat again. I look forward to that conversation.
“He wants to play so it is a case of managing his expectations. He is so close. He has been brilliant in training. Some players need to get their timing back when they have been out for a long period. With George it is all speed of thought and decision making. He has slotted straight back into form because that is his USP and x-factor- his ability to do the right thing at the right time. We are already seeing that in the few sessions he has had."
ROB DU PREEZ’S 100TH GAME FOR SALE
“It’s a big milestone. The vast majority of those of late have been epic. I am going to wax-lyrical about him on the field pre-match during the pitch-walk with the players and generally talk about the character that drives the performances. He is extremely honest in his reflection of his own performances. He is quite matter of fact and he is a big brother not just to his twin brothers but also metaphorically to the whole squad. He has that way about him. That’s when he is able to function best when he is able to influence through confidence in his ability so you are seeing the best of him at the moment. He has played in every game so far this season bar the Premiership Rugby Cup and been in every leaders meeting which also shows how robust he is. He is loving his rugby at the moment and there has barely been a dip in form. He has probably been the most consistent player in the squad.”
ISSUES WITH DISCIPLINE AT ULSTER
“Always (addressing discipline). It’s got to run through the general themes of what you are going after each week. You talk about Jonny Hill. He made a dumb play or two that had a huge momentum swing in the game. I’m referring to a penalty around the 50/55-minute mark where we struggled to get out of our half. That’s on the back of making 28 tackles which is a record since 2017 so I have heard. You can’t say that’s ok as he made 28 tackles but all that intensity controlled. The physicality has to be underpinned by discipline. The more dominant you are, and that was one of our less physically-dominant performances we have had. The more pressure you are under the more likely you are to make poor decisions and cross that line into ill-discipline. If you overthink it you lose intensity. If you are not dominant through your set-pieces or collisions then you run that risk of being on the back foot and trying to make a play rather than letting your defensive systems and physicality take care of it. When you talk about discipline you automatically think to the negative whereas I think if you can do the good things better it doesn’t even come into it.”
IS THIS THE MOST CHALLENGING PERIOD OF THE SEASON COMING UP?
“No, it’s challenging due to the internationals being away and injuries. 9 weeks on the bounce is really challenging because fatigue starts to set in after 5 or 6 games. The period before and just after Christmas because of contract negotiations and salary cap is more challenging. You have to handle all the white noise. It starts from December and it goes right through to the end of January/ early February. I think that is the more challenging period because of the white noise and having to cut out the distractions. This is quite exciting and I am looking forward to this period. It shows the strength and depth of the squad and you get to galvanise a bit of a smaller squad and hopefully cement your position in the league. After that it is the business end which is really exciting and it’s not too far from the end.”
RAFFI QUIRKE
“By his own admission he is not on the form that he wants to be. I have got to free him up and take the shackles off him. He has come on in two difficult games where he hasn’t had the space and speed of ball. He is maybe trying to force it a little bit. I can only foresee him coming out of his shell over the next couple of weeks because of the conversations I have had with him and the quality of player he is. He is too good not to. There is so much on him to want to perform, coming off the bench and trying to earn that starting position again back here but also in the eyes of Steve Borthwick and the World Cup coming up. It is just a case of taking some of that load off him. Once we do that and he does that, it’s only him who can shirk it, we will get to see the player that we know he can be.”
INJURY UPDATE
Nick Schonert and Simon McIntyre should pass the concussion protocol and play on Friday
Akker van der Merwe back after missing last weekend to attend his brother’s wedding
Daniel du Preez and Coenie Oosthuizen back up for selection
No new injuries from game at Ulster last weekend
OTHER NEWS
Manu Tuilagi’s future- “I have to wait until I have been given the green light from the commercial department to give comment on that”
3 things Alex has learnt from last couple of weeks- 1. Got to find other ways of winning games 2. Got to be at your best in the Champions Cup 3. Have most of your best personnel up for selection
Recruitment drive for next season- “I am happy with how it is going. It’s a week-to-week thing. It’s a constantly changing jigsaw puzzle of salary cap, injury dispensation and players coming in and going out for their own motivations. So what I am starting to realise is you can feel happy one week and it feels like you have it buttoned down and nailed for the next 3 or 4 years but it’s not the case a month later. It’s a mad world is this Premiership game.”
Believes challenge of playing Bath this weekend will be harder than game against them at the start of the season, believes Bath are a better team now compared to when we last played them
Jamie Langley has stepped up into Mike Forshaw’s role this week, Alex has been assisting, leaning into the players as well, planning to promote from within moving forward in the long-term
Can understand the intent of law changes in regard the tackle height but doesn’t believe this is the solution, could yield more concussions than it could save
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