ALEX SANDERSON PRESS CONFERENCE 25/10/23

TOM CURRY

“I don’t know any of the details about the situation, I have just spoken to him about his recovery process. I don’t understand what someone has to do that quantifies receiving death threats. It’s disgusting. I don’t know what else to say. It’s out of order.

“Don’t put players in the middle of it. I don’t know the modern world, I am not on social media for these kind of reasons. It’s the worst part of the media industry.”

INTEGRATING RETURNING ENGLAND PLAYERS

“It’s a case-by-case basis on individual circumstances; how they are physically and mentally, minutes player, whether they have a young family who they haven’t seen for months in the case of Agustín Creevy. So all these things are taken into account. Also what are our injuries and needs are like. What I have said to them is you come back when you are ready to come back, giving them the responsibility. They are all keen and chomping at the bit to get back in. That’s a good thing and we have a happy house. It will be a really welcoming shift coming back in from a very intense environment that they have been in at the World Cup.

“From the conversations I have had, and I have only spoken to Tom about his recovery period and Gus Creevy, they are very excited to come back. I spoke to Tom on Monday night and if he plays on Friday against Argentina, which would be his 50th cap, that would be back-to back internationals and I thought you might need a week off. He said no and he wanted to come back on Monday. We will see how he feels. It is a great sign that he wants to come back and maintain momentum. Gus has got a wife and two kids down in Reading. He has been involved in every game for Argentina and he has still said if I want him back on Monday he will be back on Monday. He has got things to do and business to take care of this year. Bevan Rodd is chomping at the bit and wants to come back in. That is a sure sign. I have given them the licence to have a week off and we will find them another week down the line. They have said no and they want to come back.”

REFLECTIONS ON WIN AT LEICESTER AND MAKING IT TWO FROM TWO

“Immensely satisfying. We could have lost both of those games. There is still quite a lot to work on. However it’s the nature in which we won the games which I was most proud of. We talked a lot about how we act, what our mindset is in adversity and we faced them in both games towards the end and we came through looking strong, calm, composed and fit. A lot of the work we put in over the pre-season seems to be paying off as well as the attacking ambition we showed in both games, first half against Northampton and throughout the game against Leicester which is an area of growth for us which I am buoyed up by. Good, not great. Great is what we are aiming to be. We have still got some distance to travel yet.

“The attack stepped up a gear on Saturday. We looked dangerous in attack every time we had the ball. In both games some ill-discipline in regards our set-piece denied us possession against Northampton in the second half; a couple of line-outs, two or three scrums. And again for 20 minutes in the second half against Leicester where we just didn’t get any platform to launch from. We have had a good look at that again this week. We know we have got it in us because this pack that we have got has been able to compete and dominate against some of the better packs in Europe. So it’s a matter of fine tuning post the pre-season.”

ROB DU PREEZ

“I am surprised South Africa haven’t come calling for him because I love him and biased towards him. His consistency of performance is of international standard, it is world-class. He has been brilliant. They (South Africa) assure me they have got good strength in depth, all of whom are playing within South Africa and that gives them home court advantage, preferential selection. Fortunately for us that’s the choice Rob has made to make Manchester his second home, to be here. I think it has denied him an opportunity he might have had if he was playing this quality of rugby in South Africa. But would he? I feel this environment, our style of play and playing with his brothers is probably contributing towards how well he is playing. So if you took him out of here would he be the same performer? He would have the same skill-set but there is so much more to performance and form than how far you can pass or how long you can kick.”

ERNST VAN RHYN

“He is everything that we hoped we had signed and more. I have got a bit of a bromance for an Ernst van Rhyn. In fact the power couple that they are because his wife Bianca is a ray of sunshine when she enters a room. You can’t not be lifted and feel the energy from the pair of them. That’s not talking about his talent but that drives his work-rate in his want and desire to do all things well. He is like a rubber ball of energy in and around the place and that transfers onto the field when you watch him play. He is tireless. He hit 30-odd rucks this weekend, 29 tackles last weekend. He has been a really good addition.”

QUALITY PERFORMANCE OF THE BACK THREE AGAINST LEICESTER

“We have had real selection issues of which of those back three who are all usually out-and-out wingers which to pick. I am talking to Arron Reed and telling him your time will come. Then this happens to Joe Carpenter (an injury) and we will just pick them all (Roebuck, O’Flaherty and Reed). There is a lot that goes into those catches, not just the bravery and the skill of the guy who is coming up to fetch them from the backfield. It is also about the communication and support of the players retreating. To get the alignment right for him the frontline has to be solid so he is able to pick his spot in the backfield. We have done a lot of work on that over the pre-season. Because we are a good line-speed team the opposition tend to kick on you more and through our scenario-contingency planning which we do every week Flats has dropped to full-back on a number of occasions.

“His work-rate is second to none; he topped all the stats at the weekend in terms of metres run, high-speed distance. So he is able to cover a lot of ground and you may question how good his kicking game is but when people are kicking contestable kicks on you it doesn’t really matter. You have just got to get the ball back. He had 17 carries on the weekend, a lot of those were only for a metre because he got belted when he got the ball. But nevertheless it shows how many times he got under it.”

SALARY CAP GOING UP TO £6.4 MILLION NEXT SEASON

“For us it is more about retention than recruitment as has been the mantra for the last two years. We have got a squad now if we are able to keep together, grow together, become more cohesive in terms of minutes played together. All the statistics and my belief is that they will succeed and win something. With that as these players who were 21 years old like a Bevan Rodd or Tom Curry who was three years junior on that kind of contract. Or an Arron Reed or Tom Roebuck, or a Raffi Quirke or Gus Warr as their market price increases you have to increase their contracts as well. Their market value will fill the extra cap money and that’s the discussion we had. They are just a few of them. I want to keep everyone if I can. Their market value will dictate where that money is spent.”

INJURY UPDATE

Jean-Luc du Preez- out for eight weeks, no operation needed

Joe Carpenter- grade one hamstring from golf and paddle tennis, slight tweak, next week if not next week after

Sam Dugdale- he thought he needed his arm being stitched back on but he had a compressed nerve which caused numbness in the arm, has a microtear but should be ok

Ben Curry- “nuisance today (Tuesday 24th) in training”, he will be available next week or the week after, comes down to metrics on strength testing

Luke Cowan-Dickie- “he is fit for purpose right now, scrummaging, mauling. He is loud, an energy giver. There is still some deficiency in terms of his bicep strength, not to do with the original injury with his neck. All of the other metrics across all the other muscles are good. Just one deficiency in his bicep which could cause an injury because it is not as strong as his other one. He is going to see the specialist on Friday. We think he might get the all-clear then, if not then in a couple of weeks. That’s what we believe.”

Arron Reed- good to go this weekend

OTHER NEWS

Really proud and impressed with England at the World Cup, surpassed expectations, done themselves proud, our lads have done Alex proud

Luke Cowan-Dickie lost a bet with Rob du Preez re World Cup semi-final between South Africa and England

Defeat at Exeter a couple of years ago just before semi-finals still bugs Alex, hasn’t let it go

Described Exeter as energetic, enthusiastic, highly spirited team that loves having the ball, we will have to match them for energy and effort, Exeter have a heavy, good scrum

Mentality been key in first two games

Set-piece not quite where want to be at the moment but believes we can be dominant at the set-piece, needs to improve

Welcomes changes to global calendar

The breakdown is competed at a much more intense level in the World Cup, interested to see if there is some transference into the Premiership, New Zealand are brilliant decision makers around the rucks, Alex has taken quite a bit of inspiration from South Africa with a significant SA contingent at the club

Hopes the World Cup will increase revenue streams and attendances, it’s about keeping the crowds coming back, not just a temporary spike, we have to make change for more investment and attendance