TOM CURRY
“He is currently undergoing his return-to-play from an HIA (concussion incident that happened during the first half of the Harlequins game). He did pass all his testing during the Harlequins match. He was reassessed at half-time as everyone is for precautionary measures and was deemed not fit to go back on for the second half. He was looked after according to the protocols really well. He was treated by two doctors with over 50 years of medical experience; one independent, one our own. They consistently check players, especially those who had knocks at half-time, which is something that we do. He has to now go through the return-to-play protocol which starts with a walk, then a bike, then bag hits. It is a gradual return to play and you have to tick the box at every point in that process to return to play. If he does all of those he will be good to train from next week. He will not be involved against Saracens this weekend.
“I think he did some really good stuff (in the Harlequins game). He is moving well. He has not hit the form yet that we all know Tom Curry can get to, which is not surprising with the length of time he was injured. We have had a chat this week about giving him the space to do that, not putting too much pressure on him. Also understanding what his training week looks like now, which is slightly different for him now, which should have been different three years ago as he was always doing too much. Now we are going to find a balance that works best for him in the long-term. I know we will get there.
“We take a bit of extra care with Tom with the way he puts himself about and because he has had a long time out of the game. I found that with Jacques Burger during my days at Saracens and there are similarities between the two. They go so hard into collisions, when you have had a year out, your timing can be slightly off. On this occasion Tom caught a hip, which hit the temple at a sweet-spot. It wasn’t even a big collision. We did look back at it afterwards. It was just a poor, unfortunate collision for Tom, catching him in the wrong place. I am not concerned at all with Tom about future incidents.”
IMPORTANCE OF THE BRAND OF RUGBY/ ENTERTAINMENT
“Winning is what I am ultimately judged on. If you remember the Leicester team of a couple of years ago that won the Premiership; they may not have been the most entertaining team but they were pragmatic. We showed last season that we can win as we had as many wins as any other team in the Premiership. There are elements of our game that we are lacking by way of bonus points so that’s what I mean. A style of rugby that is more than just pragmatic. I think you have to build your base from pragmatism and then layer on elements of structure that allow the players to express themselves because it’s a great game. I don’t think either team were happy on Sunday with what we did with the ball; a lot of mistakes and opportunities missed. But there were lots of elements we were really happy with. The effort was there, physicality was clear to see, which are great elements about the game.”
HYRON ANDREWS
“He has come to us at a time where we are going to really need him. An athletic, line-out calling jumping lock to give some subtlety to the physicality we have got. He has really settled in the north with his wife and son moving over. It is all about cap [whether we can keep him beyond this season] and how much we can spend next year. Initially he came to put him in the shop window. I think we have done that and he continues to impress us and others so I am hoping that he will, having stepped out of the shadows of the likes of Eben Etzebeth, finally get some recognition for his worth which is great for him. We would be lucky to keep him on and we will be trying to make room in the cap.”
LE ROUX ROETS
“Initially it was a conditioning thing whilst he was undergoing rehabilitation on his knee. He had to drop seven or eight kilograms which for a man of his size is not a huge amount. Then he got some damage to a nerve via a very small protrusion from a disc in his neck which doesn’t need an operation. There is a small amount of work needed on just one area of his muscles. He is there or thereabouts, if not this week next.”
BEVAN RODD
“He came back from the England tour over the summer and he was disappointed he didn’t play more and was overtaken by Fin Baxter. So there was that personal battle at the weekend. He got man of the match and I feel like he had a point to prove and he will continue to prove his points throughout the season. He is a different character in a good way. When you get him like you saw at the weekend, that motivated, he is a special player to have on your side. Not only because he can scrum and scrum well as you saw against a big international tighthead, but also his movement around the park, his mobility. He is like a back-rower; filling holes in defence, chasing back in line-breaks. He is a phenomenal player. I am really happy that he has chosen the next three years to be here. We talk about working together long-term. That is exactly why I do the job so I can work with people like Bevan.
“He has a good laugh with the lads as he was a social animal, the heartbeat when they went out. But he realised by doing that he wasn’t going to get where he wanted to go, which is a regular England international, so he picks his moments to go out. He has bought himself an hyperbaric tent, sleeping in it at home two hours a day. This is the difference in him. He is an energy giver. We have talked a lot about his influence on the group and how he can be an energy giver off the field. He is maturing as the group are and they are finding themselves as men, which is really rewarding.”
Bevan has an hyperbaric tent in his house which he has had for last 18 months/ two years. Ross Harrison and Raffi Quirke now have won as well. Helpful for recovery and rehabilitation process
INJURY UPDATE
Wanted to stay quiet on the injury front, did not want to go into much detail on them at this stage of the week, a couple of knocks but would rather not reveal team news to Saracens
OTHER NEWS
The DNA of Saracens will be similar and consistent to how they have been for years even without the likes of Farrell or the Vunipola brothers, no complacency whatsoever despite players who have left Saracens over the summer, Saracens are clinical in the red zone, good at set-piece, line speed has improved, you have to be on your mettle against them, discipline really important, we have been using the artificial pitch at Lymm Rugby Club this week to prepare for the Saracens pitch
For the backs, more clinical edge in the red zone important, for the forwards the maul needs to improve, very honest in assessment of the Harlequins game
Decision to be on the sidelines rather than in the stands like most DOR’s do- doesn’t feel like anything you can see on a laptop can immediately be fed onto the pitch, time and energy wasted up in the stands, gets a good feel for energy and physicality real-time from the sidelines, can shake players’ hands when they come off and give a message to players going on, more productive use of time
Defeat in final against Saracens in 2023 still painful, still stings, failure sits with you for longer than success
No update that can be made public quite yet on Jonny Hill, internally disciplined which will come out
This squad more experienced now, maturation of younger players who can now take more autonomy and ownership, higher degree of intra-organisational honesty, our biggest strength that we can lean into this year, play like we did towards the end of last season, looking to improve our high-performance department (S&C, medical, rehabilitation) to keep players on the field, this group has ability to do something special, flying the flag for the north, higher purpose
Sale’s down syndrome team were at the game on Sunday and their hugs as the squad arrived for the game showed the impact and effect the club has on young people picking up a rugby ball, a young girl who was a mascot wrote a thank you letter
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