MANU TUILAGI
“He is very well and positive, out on the training field. We will give him as long as we can. He is a quick healer so hope springs eternal that he will make it for the weekend. It was a high grade on hamstring so it was as good as you can get in terms of injuries. For someone who has had a lot of them and knows how to rehab them, knows his body, and for the severity, it was a good a piece of news as we could hope for.”
TOM CURRY
“He is up for selection which is great news. We want to do what is right for Tom. Saturday’s match will be an international quality and intensity for all the physicality, quality of player on the pitch and ball-in-play time. It is a lot to ask for someone who has been out for so long to step into an international game. It is not down to me whether Tom goes on tour with England. He will have a conversation with Steve. I will give my view but it is not up to me. If he is fit, something he wants to do and Steve need him it could be a good opportunity to get his career back on. I know he wants to play for England but understanding he has got a limited shelf-life. If he plays games this summer it will take away games from the back-end of his career. There has to be a careful, considered management.”
Might be a stretch for him to play Test rugby beyond 30, but he defies logic in a lot of ways, he is moving better than ever, but he will need more operations in the future
SNUBS AT END OF SEASON AWARDS
“I went to the Prem awards on Thursday night and reported back on Friday that there was not a lot to report. We didn’t win anything, which was met with a massive uproar and cheer from the players. We were leaning in on and revelling in the fact that no-one really rates us. I think George should be (in the team of the season), without a shadow of a doubt. He has been brilliant for us and how he has shifted the attacking focus and mentality of the international side, which he has had a big influence over.
“We pick up our support, we are just not as fashionable as the likes of Bath, Saracens, Harlequins. We are enjoying ourselves and I think we are putting a good product out there as well. If we keep winning and performing we will turn the tides of popularity.
“We are a very proud northern club with some South African steel. I think we have shown unbelievable resilience over the last five weeks, where every game has been a knockout game. I think we have put out some of our most consistent attacking rugby out there, we have probably scored the most points and bonus points. I am massively proud to be a part of this group, for our resilience, physicality, growth in adding to our game.”
JAMES HARPER
“He is as strong as an ox. He is a leader of men. He has his own business, which is a disability chair/ scooters business. We have seen the potential in him and I have been harping on about James, no pun intended, all of last year because of some of his physical stats and what he had been able to do in training. It’s a lot more difficult to do it in games under the stress and speed of the game and what it takes out of you physically to be able to do what he needs to do at the scrum. He is starting to make that transition week in, week out against good scrummages and dominating them whilst still hitting rucks, tackles etc. We are seeing the player we knew was in him. Consistency of performing, he is managing his body better so he is more robust. A bit of maturity in his physical development has helped him. His mental development is a lot more self-assured. He is not going into games over-thinking it. He has got to a level of physical capability and mental stability where he is able to perform consistently well.”
SIGNING OF WILL ADDISON
“We are confident (of keeping him fit). If you look at the injury record he has had recently he has been really robust the last couple of years. You find that the concurrent injuries come in spates. We have done our due diligence with him. He has been in for his medical and he is in good form. The experience and versatility he brings to a relatively inexperienced back three, if you take Tom O’Flaherty out of it. We have got a few super versatile backs, including Waisea Nayacalevu who is coming in.”
HYRON ANDREWS
“What an athlete. In the shadows at the Sharks because they have massive strength in depth in the back five of the scrum. A new owner came in there and brought more players in and he probably fell out of favour further. It was a phone call after Dan du Preez and Jonny Hill got injured. Josh Beaumont has been brilliant but hasn’t been the most robust over the years. I always seem to go on recruitment drives on my holidays. We needed a caller and someone athletic at the line-out and looking through them all he was the best of that type of athlete. He is super athletic, moves really well and has got a bigger punch and bang in contact than what his physique would suggest. His timing is really good. He is a lovely bloke and his wife wanted to experience a club where they would get looked after and an opportunity. We are looking to keep him on moving forward. It has been a really good move for him and us. It is with the agents at the moment. We have pretty much agreed on terms so we have just got to flesh out the details. I am sure we will get there because we both want to work together.”
INJURY UPDATE
Jonny Hill and Dan du Preez- should be fully fit for start of September (roughly 7th)
Tom Ellis- up for selection after five weeks out, concurrent injuries of a different nature all season but back fit
OTHER NEWS
Form is crucial in the run-in, arguably more important than a home semi-final, utilising momentum
Sam Dugdale epitomises our team- has a lot of moments that are significant in games, been involved in every matchday squad this season, hopes he gets the recognition he deserves externally
Sam James still set to leave
This team is consistently breaking records, players have been so good at driving internal messaging, no need for coaches to add too much this week, focusing more on the thousands of small conversations rather than the fireworks moments
Defeat at Bath in late March acted as a bit of a catalyst for end-of-season run, players then led meetings, set-piece had to improve after that game
Important in terms of sponsorship and ticket sales that Northern rugby is given the recognition and respect it deserves, which puts food on the table for all the employees of the club, San Antonio Spurs in the NBA pride themselves on the team being successful rather than individuals getting MVP and Hall of Fame honours
At the moment no plans to replace Gus Creevy with external replacement, plan is to push through and promote likes of Ethan Caine
Luke Cowan-Dickie is adored within the squad, energy giver, great at the scrum, breakdown, tackling
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