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Faf de Klerk has delivered his verdict on new Sale signing Manu Tuilagi
World Cup winner Faf de Klerk has hailed Manu Tuilagi’s impact at Sale Sharks as he prepares to make his debut for the club. England centre Tuilagi is set to line up in Sale’s midfield when the Gallagher Premiership resumes on Friday.
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Sale’s trip to Harlequins will be the first Premiership fixture for 159 days after the coronavirus pandemic brought the competition to a halt. And it gives the Sharks an immediate chance to showcase their latest big-name signing, who moved from Premiership rivals Leicester Tigers last month.
“All the things that have been said about Manu are absolutely true,” Sale and South Africa scrum-half de Klerk told the PA news agency. “A guy like that, you have only previously played against him, and while you know he has got a great reputation, you never know how he is going to filter into a squad.
“But he has been absolutely great and I have been very impressed with him. The way he has trained, he just sets the standard really high and drives us to be better. Everyone in the squad knows they need to perform every week to keep their spot and that just lifts the whole training environment. It has been great these last few weeks.”
De Klerk, who returned to action from a knee injury just before the Premiership was suspended in March, is excited about Sale’s prospects. It is 14 years since the club last lifted Premiership silverware, a time when they were inspired by players like Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal.
Everything you need to know ahead of the Prem's big weekend https://t.co/idh9apIG0j
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 12, 2020
But they will restart the Premiership in second place with nine regular season games left, just five points behind title favourites Exeter. “We can’t wait to get out there,” added de Klerk, who features in a giant portrait on the Twickenham pitch with Maro Itoje and Joe Marler to mark the Premiership’s return.
The artwork, which occupies most of the 7,000 square metre pitch, is thought to be the largest outdoor painting created in the United Kingdom. It took eight artists more than 24 hours to complete and over 100 hours of planning.
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“I have only played about 20 minutes this whole year because of injury, so I can’t wait to get back,” said de Klerk. “It is a big game for us on Friday and they are big games for everyone coming back. We are in a great spot and we have spoken about it as a squad, but it’s almost the start of a new season again and we need to perform.
“It’s not going to be a case of just pitching up. We’ve got a few great signings, but that is not going to help us at all if we don’t play together as a team and work hard. There has been a lot of chat about that. Any win in the Premiership is special, so we are really going to push for this game on Friday. The boys are mentally ready to pitch up and really give a good performance.”
The Premiership will return behind closed doors, a new experience for most players as English rugby’s blue riband prepares for its resumption. De Klerk added: “When I was playing at under-19 and under-21 levels, you would sometimes play in big stadiums and there weren’t really any crowds and it was only your parents watching!
“We wouldn’t be used to it at all, but it shouldn’t change the way we play and approach a game. It is going to be a different challenge, but there are people in much worse situations than us, so we just need to crack on and put on a good spectacle for the people watching at home.”
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Some typical straight talking from Dimes ahead of the Premiership restart https://t.co/vUVcXMdQeK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 11, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Will rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to comments