TOM O’FLAHERTY JOINS
Sale announced today (March 29th) the signing of Exeter Chiefs winger Tom O’Flaherty on a long-term deal. The 27-year old winger will join from Exeter in the summer on a three-year deal after 5 years with the Chiefs. O’Flaherty will bring with him a wealth of experience from a winning culture and it is safe to say that Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson is delighted to have O’Flaherty on board from next season.
“In the interview we had I generally ask them what they think their point of difference is, what they think their X-factor is and you see that with Flats (Tom O’Flaherty) he is quick, sharp, finds the gaps, always making breaks. He said I just love to work, chasing kicks. The brilliance you see him comes off the back of his work-rate. The old winger that used to hang around on the wing, and just cherry pick and finish has gone, that was yesteryear. You need players who can chase, up and back, who can work off the nine and around the field. Who work out the back as well really hard like he does at Exeter. He will give us an energy, I think he will make other players look good around him because of his work-rate particularly and he will be the first person to say that. He is more proud of his work-rate than anything else.”
REFLECTIONS ON BATH
It was undoubtedly a hugely frustrating afternoon at Bath last weekend as the game ended in a 24-24 draw after Faf de Klerk missed a kick to win the game with the clock in the red. Sale had to fight back from 21-7 down at half-time after a woeful first-half performance and Sanderson spoke about his reflections on the weekend’s game.
“If you had said at half-time given the general malaise we had and how we looked in the second 20 of the first half I would have probably have taken that as a result. We outscored them in terms of tries, we were so dominant up front that we probably came away from the game thinking it was two points that went begging than two points gained.
“We have talked about what we want from the back-end of the season. An echo of what happened away at Exeter, first half terrible, second half ace. These boys react well off extremes in motivation, off them realising after they have collected themselves what needs to be done and a rocket to go and do it. That, as the last 3 weeks have proven, isn’t a means for sustained motivation. We will be putting it back onto them, to make it more intrinsic and if the players want it badly enough it shouldn’t take someone from the outside to shape up. It should be driven individually.”
Sanderson also spoke about whether Sale should have gone for goal at the en or kicked to the corner. “Hindsight is that wonderful thing, 2 pence a bucket on Deansgate as they say up north. In hindsight we should have gone for the corner because we missed the kick but to counter that with the laws of probability, having missed 3 easy kicks already, and these guys are at worst 60% kickers, he has got to get this one. I would back him again, I still think I would make the same decision as you play the probabilities not the possibilities. There is a higher probability you get that kick than you don’t. It is easy to put too much emphasis on the outcome of a kick as opposed to the 20 minutes before half-time where we conceded 3 tries. It should never have come down to it, we need to have a better mentality not to fall off a cliff in that first half.
SARACENS PREVIEW
Looking ahead to Friday night’s game at home to Saracens, Sanderson spoke of the challenge of the upcoming fixture.
“I think this game is a really good barometer of where we are at against the very best in Europe because they have been for years. It will give us a good barometer going into Europe and to give us that springboard into the play-offs, it is effectively a quarter-final. It is about earning respect off them this weekend and off each other.”
Sanderson was also very complimentary of his former boss and good friend Mark McCall ahead of the game on Friday.
“He is just a bona fide legend in my eyes. He has got to be one of the most underrated coaches. How has he not picked up international honours and duty in his 15/17-year tenure at Saracens? I still ring him up on a monthly basis and have a natter and ask him about certain things. It shows the measure of the man, he doesn’t let his professionalism get in the way of his relationship with me at least.”
ENGLAND HEAD COACHING ROLE
Sanderson was asked about who might succeed Eddie Jones as England Head Coach. He gave a ringing endorsement of his former colleague and good friend Steve Borthwick as a potential successor to Jones.
“He has definitely got past experience as an assistant coach for two different nations so I would say he is probably the fore-runner right now given his track record this year as well. I think he would be brilliant for it. He is ambitious, he went straight from playing to coaching with Japan. Where is the ceiling for Steve, he hasn’t reached it yet has he.”
Sanderson was asked about his views on whether England should look at solely English coaches or look globally for Jones’ successor.
“You have to recruit as much on character as you do on talent. There is a lot of good coaching talent out there but what is the right fit for the group of players that lead it. We keep coming back to the authenticity of what it is to be English, you can’t fabricate or reproduce that if it does mean a lot to you. You already have an advantage over other coaches if you are English for those very reasons. You can pluck on those heartstrings and use that as motivation. It is a combination of talent, character and what the best fit is for the job, and I am sure that they wouldn’t overlook someone who was out and out a better coach just because of their nationality.”
Kommentare