FAF DE KLERK’S INFLUENCE
“Back before I was even in the first team he was one of my heroes. Someone you aspire to be like, play like and act like. Once you are in the first team you are a bit starstruck by it. But once you are actually training with him every day, going out for a drink with him after big wins and meals he becomes one of your friends. Credit to him he is still a very humble man. Obviously he won the World Cup in 2019, he showed off a little bit in front of Tom Curry but he is someone who had a lot of energy around the club. We miss that now but I am trying to bring that energy myself.
“He could so easily have said that he had won the World Cup and completed rugby but he didn’t at all. He was still pushing myself, Gus Warr, Will Cliff and everyone at the club to get better. I watched games back with him even though at first you might feel a little apprehensive to ask someone so high profile to sit down and watch your game because realistically does he want to be doing that? But he did watch them back with me and gave me pointers during and after sessions, constantly in my ear and boosting my confidence.
“I think if you hang around greatness a lot then it should rub off. For example, watching The Last Dance at the minute and you see the impact Michael Jordan had on all the other players just brought everyone up another level. Maybe I did develop a little quicker playing with Faf. I still feel that whoever is in front of me at scrum-half inside I want to be ahead of them in everything; fitness, passing and kicking challenges. So if I am going up against the best then I am only going to get better.
DID HE FEEL MORE PRESSURE AND RESPONSIBILITY AFTER FAF’S DEPARTURE?
“Probably subconsciously I do. I think losing Faf meant that the number 9 spot was up for grabs, which was my goal and I tried to get that straightaway. I have had a few injuries over the last 12 months so I probably didn’t feel it as much as I would have done. I have been more focused on actually getting back on the pitch and getting healthy which may have been a blessing, I’m not really sure.”
CHALLENGE MENTALLY OF BEING INJURED
“The hamstring injury was tough to take as it was towards the business end of last season and I missed the latter stages of Europe and the Premiership. Obviously it was tough to take and watching the boys without you there is always going to be tough. I came back from the hamstring injury, played a couple of games and then went back into the England squad. I didn’t get picked for the first game of the Autumn Series and then in the game against Gloucester in which in a freak accident I broke my wrist. That was probably the tougher one to take even though the hamstring injury was a bigger injury and I was out for a longer period of time. I managed to get back and back to my best pretty quickly after the hamstring injury. Whereas with my wrist I still feel I’m building confidence on it and I don’t feel I am quite back to my best. I feel like it is coming. Mentally it was harder after the wrist injury because I had only just come back from the previous injury and now I am going to miss more time.”
ADAPTING GAME TO AVOID INJURY
“I have had a lot of people ask me that question and the conversation around whether as a scrum-half I should be trying to tackle the biggest guys. I haven’t said I am going to change my game completely because that’s the way I play and the reason I got selected for England in the first place. I want to compete against everyone, even if he is the biggest guy in front of you. I am still going to try and whack him. I try not to take it away from my game because that’s the player I am and no matter who is in front of me I’m not going to be afraid of them. However, I think there are little bits of my game that I may have to try and tweak just to stay on the pitch a bit more.”
LOOMING WORLD CUP
“As a kid you see Jonny Wilkinson kicking drop goals for glory and the boys in 2019 in the final. Everyone knows that’s a big goal. It’s a big goal of mine to get in that squad. But first and foremost I have got to be playing my best rugby for Sale. Even though that’s on the backburner and in my head my main focus is getting back to my best at the minute and not get distracted. There are all sorts of things that can distract you.”
LOOKING AT OTHER SCRUM-HALVES
“I think you need to look at your own game first and see what you need to work on. By watching other scrum-halves you can pick up extra little things, tricks and traits that other people do. I have obviously watching a lot of Antoine Dupont. Luckily we played Toulouse away, even though I was injured at the time. I got to go away with the boys and watch everything he does, how he warms up, acts, speaks to people, his mannerisms on and off the pitch. Then I had the chance to play against him at home. Then you see him play really well in the Six Nations and kick 50-22’s off his left foot and you are in awe of that. You want to add things like that to your game. I watch not just scrum-halves but also back three players. I also watch players from other sports and see what little things you can take even if it’s just motivation.”
Had a chat with Steve Borthwick at the start of the Six Nations just after he returned from injury
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