In today's media session (Wednesday 28th September), Alex Sanderson discussed a variety of topics including Manu Tuilagi's future, the injury latest in the squad and Jason Woodward. Here are the quotes from the presser:
Views on high scoring games in the Premiership so far
“It has been nuts. There is generally a teething process or a period of time where teams are getting into the flow at the start of the season. Sometimes these opening games are a bit clunky in terms of how fluid they are. You normally these types of games at the end of the season when there is a bit more of a festival type of atmosphere and maybe a little less riding on some of them so some people open up a bit more. We have had the chance to look at most of those game and I reckon 4 of the teams were in the ascendency where all the logarithms and computers, which I have loved, have backed one team and in almost every case that team has lost. So you can put it down to a couple of things. The referees have got it right in terms of their perception of what is happening at the breakdown which allows for quicker ball and for attacking teams to retain ball and a more entertaining game. There is decent ambition from the clubs in terms of their attacking abilities. And then a lack of composure and control because of the flip-flopping of the scores which hasn’t happened in the past.”
Injury latest in the squad
“Bevan Rodd is available, Raffi (Quirke) is probably another week off unfortunately but only a week. Jason Woodward is back in the next couple of weeks. Manu (Tuilagi) is still fit. Just really in terms of the big names Bevan Rodd could come back into the fold. Obviously we lost Luke James last week; it’s a 12-16 week injury and he has been playing well at fullback. He has torn a lateral ligament in his ankle; he took a knock in the air, landed on the side of his foot and it just went 90 degrees to the vertical and tore a ligament. That is a loss for us but it opens up a door for Joe Carpenter whose been injury laden himself. He is a bit of a rare talent, we have all got big plans for him, he is only 20 years old, he was the best in his group, he is fearless under a high ball and he has got a turn of pace that can light up and expose even the least fragmented of defences. We have got about 4 weeks before the Autumn Internationals so we want to get the most out of them (the England internationals) and it is important that you keep rewarding your squad members who have performed and trained well so it is a tricky balance as you go into this longer stretch before Christmas to make sure that you get the most out of your squad.”
Manu’s loading with England
“Constant discussions between our medical department and theirs. They have been taking all our loadings and how we have built him up to these recent games, what he is doing every week so that they know what we are doing and we know what they did. There is an agreement in principle which we are hoping to cement before the Autumn Internationals which requires us to increase his loading slightly in terms of accelerations, which we both believe had an impact on his injury. So we increase his accelerations as we get closer to the Autumn Internationals and in compromise my understanding they will manage him better than most with more caution than most rather regards to aligning what he has done with us and what he has done with them. So they shouldn’t be any disparity and a big jump in terms of his workload in his training week.
“We will do (knowing Manu’s workload with England), to the metre, what is ideal for him. Most training weeks work on a pretty easy day, a really hard day and a medium intensity day in that order of the week. We are very similar in England in terms of the high intensity days, the really hard day and the medium day. So we are now questioning over one day which is the start of the week on the back of a game how much accelerations he does on that first day, that’s my understanding of it. Therein lies the discussion, the agreement we will hopefully come to and a greater understanding of how we can manage Manu. Eddie is hopefully calling me up today, he is not just leaving it to the medics. He really wants to chat to him, not just about his training load but about his game management as well. He hasn’t played more than 4 or 5 games on the bounce for 3 years so I think that is important that you look after him on short turnarounds and stay away from 4G pitches a little bit, not because they are any worse for him but that is where he has injured himself. The aim is to get him peaking for a World Cup not these Autumn Internationals.”
Manu’s future
“The earlier the better (knowing Manu’s plans) and it is right at the top of my to-do list to go to Lymm and have a coffee with him. That is how I did it last time, we went for a walk through Macclesfield Forest. There has obviously been speculation in the press and all of it is unfounded. Nevertheless players see these things and it creates white noise within the changing room so I am all for dispersing the fog and making sure we understand where we are both at. He is such a genuine person, if there was any inkling of him getting overtures or him being interested and it being a real possibility right now I think he would let me know and vice-versa. We are just trying to get him on the field and get some form. I know these things detract from what you are trying to do week-to-week so to some degree we have just ignored it and focused on what we have been trying to do as a team. It is right up there as it is with everyone who is out of contract, the rest of them have been in the papers in recent weeks.
“We have got a meeting tomorrow, a succession meeting where we are looking right to 2024, 2025. You really plan years in advance for the salary cap and to some degree because it is that well-planned there is not a lot of movement, not a lot of negotiating and bargaining you can do in terms of what you can give them. They have to be part of a jigsaw. It is a very rigid salary cap and one that is a lot lower than what the French and Japanese clubs have to offer. That could easily give me an understanding and an idea of how much we are able to offer Manu for his worth, which will be less than a French club. So that is the nature and challenge of it. You can only make up for that through infrastructure, support, care and these lads know they can have a good life. That does count for a lot. (When he was at Saracens) the likes of John Smit and Schalk Brits could have gone to Japan but came for a lifestyle over the pound coin so you are able to make up for the difference in salary cap through a bit of love.”
Whether Manu plays all 4 Autumn Internationals
“That is the question I have got for Eddie. Whether or not he divulges that for me I don’t know. There is a short turnaround between the games against Argentina and Japan. That is what I am talking about in terms of game management, we are already planning for the short turnarounds and him not being involved for the most part. You have to be relatively flexible but keep a longitudinal view as if you want to keep this guy fit then he has to be game managed not just training managed.”
Jason Woodward
“Whether or not Jason (Woodward) comes in he will earn it through merit not just through credit in the bank. He is a really experienced player which is why he was brought in because we have two young fullbacks and I felt they could learn a lot from Jason. He has been brilliant, he is a great lad, he plays the mouth organ. He is back to the fitness he was before he kept getting these recurring injuries. We have spent a long time building him back up again in terms of his mechanics so he should be robust for us when he does comeback. That’s all you want then to have that headache of a decision if we have a couple of good lads in form and fit and then you pick on form, especially during this international window where you are losing a few of the lads who give you an edge as internationals.”
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