LEARNINGS FROM WIN OVER NEWCASTLE LAST WEEKEND
“I think the players would have gained a little bit more confidence not just in some of their actions and outcomes but also in terms of their attitude. That was the best part of Saturday was how the players continued to want to improve. They didn’t go through the motions at any point apart from the first five minutes. Then we got everyone who and kept everyone fit. It was a roll of the dice a little bit and I feel like it has paid off as we continue to build and gain momentum.”
MAGNITUDE OF THIS WEEKEND’S SEMI-FINAL
“Thankfully this isn’t our first rodeo of recent times with this group. We have learnt two years ago how to manage these kind of moments better. It is a game of grand magnitude which we are looking to enjoy and embrace, not to be overwhelmed by. That’s the challenge.
“Our excitement exists within this bubble. You don’t want to talk about the further reach it can become overwhelming as it did two years ago. You have to stick to process whilst being aware of the buzz around. We don’t tend to open ourselves up too much to feel what the fans are feeling. It’s been really, really busy around the ground with five sell-outs and there is lots going on this weekend. We feel the support more than we ever have done. We have just got to come back to what has been working well for us which is communicating well and training hard.”
LEARNINGS FROM SEMI-FINAL DEFEAT TWO YEARS AGO
“I haven’t really thought about it, I don’t want that to sound complacent. We have been working towards it and building for this seriously for two years, certainly since a year last Christmas when we realised we had a lot of work to do as an organisation. Since then we have looked at how we can give ourselves these kind of opportunities. Now we are here it feels like we have earnt it, it’s less of a fairy-tale and less emotion around this occurrence than there was two years ago. I am looking forward to it but at present I’m not jumping out of my boots.”
“It’s a motivation to do it better but it doesn’t motivate me anymore. In fact I probably wanted it too much a couple of years ago.”
PREPARATION FOR SEMI-FINAL THIS WEEKEND
“We haven’t trained today (Monday) but we have come in this morning for a few reasons. To knock off Newcastle in terms of the review which takes up some time and cognitive space. In doing so we can shorten the days for the rest of the week, get them out early by lunchtime. That takes some anxiety away from them. You can imagine in weeks like this the more they hang around with each other they build and gee each other up. Look how busy this is on the call today. That is omnipresent around the organisation.
“There is more noise and heightened appreciation from the media. We have a documentary crew and family and friends in. We have addressed that as well as the heightened awareness of selection. We referred back to the players, in particular seven or eight of them who have won the big trophies in the past, and how they have managed these weeks, how we can manage these moments better. It’s a general understanding of how we deal with it, make sure it doesn’t change us but be aware that it is there.
“Tomorrow we will have a look at Leicester and we have rugby league legend Jamie Peacock coming in to have a chat about what champion attitude looks like. We will hopefully take a leaf out of his book and add it to our own. Then we will start to build our mentality and what we are about from Wednesday through to Friday. That’s the basic plan.”
IMPORTANCE OF PLAYERS LIKE GEORGE FORD AND MANU TUILAGI IN GAMES LIKE THIS WEEKEND’S
“It’s crucial as these players are leaders who come to the fore at this stage of the season. These are guys are who have to step up on the field, able to keep their heads, respond and find ways when the plan doesn’t work which invariably doesn’t against the better teams. Finding ways of navigating to better outcomes. Being able to draw on their experience is crucial today as it will be through the week. I will continue to lean on them, not that it’s a chore for them as they want to.”
GUS WARR
“He’s forever been a second choice. They have always signed other people up and then let’s sign Gus up because he might come through. When I came here and asked Gus because of the calibre of scrum-halves here to go on to loan to Doncaster and he did. He did well there and they loved him. Consistently through that he has learnt and honed his craft. His decision making is second to none. He is a good athlete but he's not the best athlete. He’s not as fast as Raffi Quirke or as strong as Faf de Klerk but the things he does actually sets him apart from those two. By that I mean his consistency in good decisions, his ability to energise our own lads and frustrate the opposition. That’s what we talk in regards the elements of a good scrum-half. He is well-liked by the rest of the squad and he drives people.”
OTHER NEWS
Tolu Latu has signed elsewhere for twice what we were offering him
Why wouldn’t we be interested in a player like Luke Cowan-Dickie if he becomes available, not sure if he will be in our price range, he’s got mates up here, he fits into our game model in the Akker van der Merwe/ Ewan Ashman mould, he’s a banger, ticks a lot of boxes there, Alex has not spoken to Cowan-Dickie, spoke glowingly about performance of Ethan Caine at the weekend, doesn’t want to block his pathway
Tom Curry and Akker van der Merwe rested last weekend
Working with the young players- a need to be more explicit in communication
Less loading and less time on feet this week but higher intensity
Wants to build through the week, doesn’t want to peak emotionally too early in the week, go off feel for what the players need, players should be driving it
Seeing a progression in the winning mindset of the players, this business end of the season gives this group the opportunity to grow into becoming champions
Set-piece functioned well against Leicester at home earlier this season, aware of necessity to do so again this weekend, it will be monumentally physical game
INJURY UPDATE
Daniel du Preez- didn’t run for three weeks whilst stabilising his shoulder, pulled up a little bit tight from last week, no risk taken on him, available for selection
Nick Schonert and Tom O’Flaherty came through well last week, not yet confirmed whether they will be available this weekend, no training has taken place so far this week (as of Monday)
Manu Tuilagi- split the webbing in his finger, rare flesh wound, good to train and up for selection
Thanks again Kieran........star man