'If you're over the ball and have two blokes over 100 kilos flying into you off their feet, it can be pretty difficult to survive'
Sunday at The Rec marked a milestone for Sam Underhill. Not since the 2015/16 season at Ospreys had the back row started 11 games in a domestic league season.
As someone who managed just four starts in his debut Premiership campaign at Bath last term, making his 11th in the 29-17 win over Wasps marked a triumph for the fetcher with the reputation as potentially one of the best in the business.
He may have missed the Six Nations with England, but that ankle injury didn’t massively hinder his availability to a club he joined in 2017 following a successful PRO12 apprenticeship in west Wales.
But here’s there rub. Having potential is one thing. Ensuring your body has the sufficient long-term robustness and durability to see this through to fruition quite another.
Underhill doesn’t want to come across in any way that he is moaning. It’s just that he more than a tad fed up with some refereeing interpretations surrounding the breakdown. It’s the wild west of rugby, a chaotic area where anything can go from one ruck to the next.
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For a sniffer constantly on the scent of securing valuable turnover ball, as successfully witnessed when winning the penalty turnover that led to Bath’s bonus try move against Wasps, this lack of protection is a concern for a 22-year-old with a history of head injuries amongst his other setbacks.
Judging by his considered response to RugbyPass, it sounds as if he has been waiting for someone to ask him what actually can be done to better improve player safety in this most dangerous of areas in the sport, a situation where you have players foraging with their head down who then get blown away by other colliding into them like a tonne of bricks.
“Good question, great question,” he said, glad of the opportunity to give a No7’s insight into the mayhem that goes on in this type of collision.
“The breakdown is one of the last grey areas of the game for me. The law at the moment is you have to make an effort to bind before you hit a ruck. The letter of the law is you make an effort to bind onto a player before you enter a ruck. That never happens.
“It doesn’t happen because it can’t happen. If you try and bind on to someone before you try and move them off the breakdown, you’re going to be there late and you’re not going to have enough momentum to get them off the ball.
“I understand it is the way the game is played and it’s commonly interpreted the same, but my issue is if all clean-outs are illegal by the letter of the law then you can’t differentiate between the bad ones and the okay ones.
“If everyone is breaking the law by not binding before they hit a ruck you can’t penalise the people that really don’t do it right, those who hit them hard, go off their feet and stuff.
“I’m not going moan about it because it is part of the game, it is how it is played at the moment, but it can be a bit confusing at times. I’d probably like to see it treated similarly to a tackle because that is effectively what a breakdown is now.
“It is sort of a tackle but the problem is you get a lot of them where there is no effort, there is no arms involved and players are flying in off their feet. It’s a lot of momentum. If you’re trying to get over the ball and have two blokes who are over 100 kilos flying into you off their feet, it can be pretty difficult to survive that.
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“It’s sort of acknowledged that that is the way it is at the moment but I’d probably like to see the ambiguity cleaned up. Also for the refs because the refs have a hard enough job as it is being consistent in their interpretation and in being fair.
“For them they have got a pretty hard job because I don’t think the guidelines are particularly clear as to what is and isn’t okay – and you probably see that a spectator. It’s a part of the game but if you want to make the game safer and reduce injury rates, it’s probably a good place to start,” he continued.
“You know it [the impact] is coming but the physics of it are pretty difficult if you have got that much momentum coming at you that quickly, it is nearly impossible to survive that.
“If you have got the majority of clean-outs where there is two players and they’re both off their feet and neither of them are making an effort to do a wrap in any way, then you’re going to struggle to survive.”
Underhill’s switch to Bath was life-changing. Another season at Ospreys would have made him Welsh qualified, but proving himself in a Premiership where his previous experience was nine minutes off the bench during two seasons at Gloucester resulted in the former England under-18 player returning across the Severn on a three-year deal that now has 13 months remaining.
“Very fondly,” is his reply when quizzed on how he looked back on his stint at Bath so far. “I have really enjoyed my time here, really enjoyed it as a club. I didn’t really have a plan. I kind of learnt from my time at the Ospreys that if you have a plan it tends not to work out.
“My plan was to get to Bath, be fit all season and play really well. It turned out for Bath that I wasn’t fit for the majority of that first season. It was a bit of a hiccup. This season has been better and I’m hoping next season will be even better.
“I’m hoping it will be third time lucky fitness-wise. I have really enjoyed it here, learnt a lot, built some really good relationships and had some good times. It’s a good club to be around and I’m glad I made the move.”
Much of his work, though, continues to go unseen. Ask your regular rugby fan what memory they have of Underhill and it will invariably be that infamously disallowed try versus the All Blacks last November where be left Beauden Barrett for dead with his fleeted footed acceleration.
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— Bath Rugby (@bathrugby) May 3, 2019
“I guess it probably won’t happen again. It is what it is,” he said about that likely match-winning try ruled out for marginal offside by Courtney Lawes at a ruck. What matters most to the flanker is the respect his those he is in the trenches with.
“You’re probably most appreciated by your players and coaches. There is obviously a broader perception of you as a player, but the people whose opinions matter the most are the coaches I’m playing under and the players I’m playing with.
“They’re the ones who see the work that you do in the week and see the unseen work in the games and notice the smaller things. You look to those people as the barometer of how you’re doing and your performance.
“I’d hope as a seven if you’re doing your job you’re probably not getting an awful lot of attention. If you’re doing your job well you’re probably going unnoticed. That is kind of how you want it to be.”
Currently in seventh, victory over Leicester on the final day of the regulation Premiership season on May 18 can earn Bath a Champions Cup qualification spot. After that, it’s the notice of England boss Eddie Jones that Underhill will be hoping to grab in time for Rugby World Cup selection.
“It would be unbelievable. It’s a childhood dream. You grew up playing in England, you want to play for England and you want to be at a World Cup. It would mean the world to me, but you can’t get too distracted by where you want to go. You have to focus on how you are going to get there. Playing well Bath will hopefully be rewarded with selection. If not, then so be it.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
16 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
16 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe 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.
6 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.
22 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
22 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.
8 Go to comments