'As a kid it sometimes takes a landmark event like the 2003 World Cup win to get you involved'
Legacy is a word often cheaply bandied about in sport. Host an event and the boffins on the organising committee will frequently be heard vaguely going on endlessly about what benefits might accrue in the long term.
It’s nice then to come across conclusive proof that some big rugby tournament has left a positive footprint somewhere along the line. Take Gloucester’s Tom Savage. But for England’s exploits in winning the 2003 World Cup, the long-serving Premiership lock might never have picked up a rugby ball.
“I was mainly into cycling and a few other sports and it wasn’t until I was around 15 or 16 when I fell into rugby,” said the late bloomer to RugbyPass about the accidental way he first fell into the sport. “It was because of the 2003 World Cup. A local senior side [Bishop’s Castle] introduced a junior section. A few mates went down from school and it all kicked off from there.
“My dad was always a keen rugby watcher, so he sat us down and made us watch it. He then saw there was an option to go and play locally, so he went and signed us up. That played a huge part in it, a landmark event in the sport. As a kid it sometimes takes something like that encourage you to get involved.
“I liked to watch Jason Robinson play. There was always that excitement when he got the ball, you knew something was going to happen. He was always good to watch, but I’m a million miles away from the type of game he played.”
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Gloucester have reaped the benefit of that Savage imagination ignited by Robinson’s dancing feet, the second row making nearly 200 appearances for them in a hectic rise up the ranks that was greatly assisted by current Championship outfit Hartpury.
The Gloucestershire minnows were only working their way through from their 11th tier of English rugby’s pyramid system when Savage was on their books some time ago, but those ties still bind.
He still gets along to matches at College Stadium and while the club’s immediate focus is on winning their relegation battle with London Scottish, Savage believes the tier two league is an invaluable breeding ground for professional level talent and is worthy of greater financial investment by the RFU.
“It’s vital for English rugby to have that level of competition. You might have someone who has just missed out on a pro contract through lack of experience or they might have had a bad season and they need to find rugby. As a pathway it’s hugely important,” he said.
“There are examples of guys who have been at Gloucester who needed more game time and they signed for a championship team and got minutes week in week out. It’s crucial. It’s great how Hartpury have worked their way up the ranks and I was a massive part of that nine, 10 years ago. It’s great to see where they are today. A lot of years’ work has gone in.
Very well done to @HartpuryRFC for their win against the Reds today and steering a little clearer from the bottom of the table! The link to the photos is below! ?? pic.twitter.com/92fI0EOhS5
— Oliver Pinel Photography – Jersey Reds (@PinelPhotos) March 23, 2019
“The Championship is hugely important for the game and the more money you can pump into something like that to help those sides to keep progressing and raising the standard of the league the better really.”
Gloucester, though, are naturally Savage’s priority. He hasn’t featured in Johan Ackermann’s recent selections: his contract is due to expire this summer and there have been rumours of a switch to Japan for the soon-to-be 30-year-old.
But the club’s current Premiership buoyancy – they’re in third place on the back of four wins in the last five, the latest coming last Saturday versus Wasps – has him hopeful a first semi-final appearance since 2011 is on the horizon for a league founder club starved of success.
Only four clubs – Bath, Wasps, Leicester and Gloucester – have spent all 32 seasons in the top flight, but whereas the other three have shared 22 titles between them, the Cherry & Whites are still searching for their breakthrough silverware.
“It’s so tight,” said an excited Savage about a play-off race that has just five rounds of fixtures remaining. “We’re taking it one game at a time and just focusing on that – that is all we can do.
“It’s all in our hands at the moment and we’re not resting on our laurels. We are putting the work in at training and know there is still more growth in this side towards the back end of the season when we hope to be where we want to be.
There's simply no stopping @JakePolledri from that distance ?
Back from wearing the Azzurri colours, the @gloucesterrugby flanker powered his way over to put the cherry on the cake against @WaspsRugby ?
Catch all the #GallagherPrem highlights on Monday on @channel5_tv ? pic.twitter.com/w1g8u7BOdW
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 24, 2019
“It doesn’t matter whether clubs are lying first or in 12th, anyone can beat anyone this year so you need to be near your best every week because if you do have a drop, you have to make sure that dip is not too big and you can still grind out the result.
“It’s fine margins. I remember that year with Laurie (Fisher in charge) and we were on the wrong end of an error, a tactical mistake or a refereeing decision. That could have made a difference that season but we have taken our learnings and are reasonably happy with where we are at the moment. We just need to keep knuckling down and keep grinding out the results. If we do that we will be in a good spot at the end of the year.”
Not playing while he is fit and ready to contribute is an usual situation for Savage. He has rarely been injured throughout his professional career, a knock in a pre-season game last August at Ulster sidelining him for a few months similar to a ruptured pec muscle injury in 2013/14.
Other than that, he has consistently been free of injury, an enviable run of availability in a sport where so many players suffer far more serious setbacks.
“I don’t think I missed a Prem game for three seasons at one stage. If you manage to wrack up those numbers you can consider yourself fortunate with how boys are picking up knocks these days. Unfortunately that is part of the game.
“It’s got to be a bit of luck. You can get these freaks accidents in rugby where the body breaks down, a limb gets trapped somewhere. Aside from that I take huge care. I take a lot of pride in how professional I am with my recovery, my nutrition and the way I tackle my training.
“It has a huge part to play and the more you do off the field it kind of keeps you on the field. I’m enjoying the season. The competition to play in the second row is really tough but we’re driving each other and working hard to do the best with the team.”
Comments on RugbyPass
He seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
3 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
15 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
15 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
3 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
15 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
15 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to comments