'It's actually true, I've run my quickest top speeds this year'
New Sale signing Tom O’Flaherty is thrilled he is defying the supposed logic that the older a winger gets, the slower you are set to become. Instead, the 28-year-old is moving quicker than ever after pitching up in July for pre-season at the Sharks, the club he joined on a three-year deal after five career-making years at Exeter after he had taken a circuitous route into the pro ranks via the university rugby scene.
His pace eventually earned him rave reviews at the Chiefs, transforming him from a fringe squad outsider into a first-team regular under Rob Baxter. All that sweat and blood culminated in the club’s joyous Gallagher Premiership/Heineken Champions Cup double in October 2020 and O’Flaherty is now looking to do it all over again – except in very different surroundings.
Manchester was only ever a place that the Londoner visited on away day duty but it is now very much his home and the move has resulted in the re-energising of his eye for a score. There were just five tries in 19 Premiership matches last term for Exeter but he has already scored four in nine league outings with Sale ahead of this Sunday’s trip to Harlequins.
What gives? Record speeds, according to his GPS reports. “It’s actually true,” he chuckled to RugbyPass over the phone after midweek training. “I have run my quickest time, my quickest top speeds this year. On your GPS units, it tells you your speeds, your metres per second, and it tracks it during games and all that sort of stuff.
“I don’t know, I really don’t know (the reason for the improvement). At Sale, we have got a slightly different gym programme, different training week, so I probably get a bit more time to recover which helps but other than that I don’t know. Just keep eating my porridge in the morning.”
? ??????????.
? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ????.#MoreThanJustARugbyClub pic.twitter.com/h5nM6918Zw
— Sale Sharks ? (@SaleSharksRugby) September 21, 2022
A few other things have helped his successful bedding in 240 miles up the M5 from Devon. Yoga has fine-tuned his body while getting quickly accepted by the Sharks squad was another aspect bringing out the best in him. “I have done a bit more yoga since being here which is helping my body and feeling a lot looser. I do some breathing exercises here and there as well which I enjoy, but yoga has helped.
“Ultimately you have got to be yourself whatever you are doing,” he added about the nervousness of joining a new Premiership club after his chunky spell at the Chiefs. “Knowing Sam Hill helped but all the boys were very hospitable, friendly and open, so they made it easy to be myself. We had a trip to Connacht away in pre-season which also helped bed in. But yeah, you have just got to be yourself, don’t you, and the lads made it very easy to do that.
“Also, good rugby environments are relatively similar. It’s not as if I’m walking into a completely changed job or walk of life. There is an element of comfort there in that you are doing the same job and whatever, but ultimately it is the people around you that make you feel comfortable and everyone made me feel very comfortable.”
So too his pursuits away from the game, particularly fishing. “You sometimes go fishing in north Wales, go out for breakfast quite a lot with the lads and I recently got a dog so that takes up a bit of time. I have always done fishing but it’s not the time of year for it because it’s a bit too cold.
“When it’s in season, it’s usually seabass mainly, pollock, lobsters and all sorts, just whatever is there really. I find it relaxing, it just clears your head and gets you away from the game. No one gives away their secret spots but I have just been in and around Anglesey which is like an island basically.
“In the summer months and on the weekends we have off, I’m camping and fishing and then sometimes on my day off, I actually went surfing last weekend to be fair, down near Abersoch which was nice. I bring a few boys flyfishing but I am more into pier fishing. Raffi Quirke, I have been with him a few times and he enjoyed it. A few boys go flyfishing because there are a few rivers and whatnot around here (in Manchester) and reservoirs.”
It was last March when the Sale recruitment of O’Flaherty was announced, the marriage confirmed three months after a deal had been struck to bring Jonny Hill, his Exeter colleague to the Sharks. How and why did his own move come about? “I just fancied a change. I’d been at Exeter for five years and just thought it was the right time to move on.
“Yeah, just fancied a change of scenery. I just thought it would a shame not to maximise all the opportunities you get in your career, so I decided to move and it’s so far so good. From a rugby perspective, I always knew Sale were a good team and by the time I signed it had already been announced that George (Ford) had signed and I knew that Jonny had signed as well and I spoke to Al (Sanderson).
Sharp Sale, try Sale ?
Excellent pass from Sam James to bypass the Leicester defense and set @SaleSharksRugby away ?
Tom O'Flaherty gives the Sharks the lead ? #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/Xtzm3Bkluy
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) December 30, 2022
“I had a Zoom with him and that was about an hour or so and then as negotiations take a bit of time, they can go on over months, he sent me texts and stuff so we conversed throughout it and he just seems like a nice, authentic bloke. That really appealed to me and that is what ultimately led me to sign.
“I really liked what he is building, the way he spoke about what he is trying to achieve as a club. I just thought it would be the right time and also because it is a new challenge playing in different structures and different ways which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
“Jonny actually sent him a text before I signed with a photo of the two of us in it. I don’t know if that might have prompted Alex to get things going. There were a few late-night texts as well. Good fun… All the interactions I have had with him seem to be good. He is just authentic and interesting and is a good guy to speak to. Not anything in particular but I just enjoy his company, enjoy learning and being in the environment that he is cultivating.
“I spoke to Sam Hill as well before coming down. He was always a bit of a clown at Exeter and nothing seems to have changed here. He gets the boys laughing the most. He showed me the ropes around Manchester and around the club which was also a help.”
So too his background in the game, starting in the minis section at Old Alleynians in London before getting to Exeter via Ospreys following a university degree at Cardiff that involved a year studying in France and a stint with the Montpellier espoirs.
“It just gave me a bit more appreciative of the career, starting a bit later,” reckoned O’Flaherty. “All my mates from uni and school are all doing different things and I suppose as I grow older you realise it is good to have the career that you have.
Sliding into the try scene @SaleSharksRugby score their second try of the night through Tom O'Flaherty ?
Watch live now on PRTV Live ?#GallagherPrem | #NEWvSAL pic.twitter.com/KpXCvYvWIW
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) December 23, 2022
“A lot of people want to be in the position that I’m in and so not being in it from minute one and doing a variety of things, it makes you realise that you are lucky and that you have had a chance to experience other things when I was young. It was good. I suppose you could say it was grounding.”
The uni route in the pro ranks has become a regular pathway in recent times. “Yeah, definitely. Alex Dombrandt was another one, he went to Cardiff Met. Clubs are picking up more from unis or they are giving players that are signing a chance to go to uni which is good.
“You can see how people could potentially lose love for the game if they are just doing it from minute one whereas if you are doing it more for enjoyment at uni and you have got a lot socially going on, it gives you a chance to let loose and once you’re in full-time you are in full-time and then you can start honing your skills.”
That said, he didn’t become an instant success at the Chiefs. “I’d to bide my time a bit in that first year at Exeter but I had top-quality international competition ahead of me, top-quality wingers ahead so it was understandable. You learn a lot from those people. I’d to bide my time a little bit but you’re there for a reason.
“He [Rob Baxter] hasn’t chosen you to make up the numbers. You are there for a reason and then you have just got to put your best foot forward, learn as much as you can and then give it the best crack you can. He gave me advice but not a single piece of it stands out. It just cultivates you to work extremely hard I suppose, which is basically the lynchpin of everything and it can’t be overlooked. I just still try and stick to that, which is working.”
Midway through the season, Sale are heading to London in second place having won eight of their eleven Premiership matches so far while they also comprehensively won one of their two European fixtures. The highlights for O’Flaherty? “I’d say beating Ulster so convincingly. And then to be fair the performance last weekend (against Leicester) was a good one too. Either one of those two.
???? ???? | ? v ?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. ????
Alex makes 0? changes to #YourSharks starting XV after the boys' emphatic victory of Leicester last weekend. ?#HARvSAL | @PremRugby
— Sale Sharks ? (@SaleSharksRugby) January 6, 2023
“I’d say we probably kick a bit more here at Sale (than at Exeter) and manage the game a little bit more but then also in recent weeks when we have performed well we have played at the right times as backs. There is probably less running from anywhere here, probably a little more balance. It has been good, I have really enjoyed it, enjoyed playing in the new shape, the new coaches, the new structure. It is always good to keep the blade sharp.”
You mention kicking, does that mean more aerial responsibility? “Yeah, I’d say ish. When I say we kick more we probably have kick battles not necessarily box kicking off nine. We do that as well but there is more variety of kicks and all that sort of stuff. Kicking is a big part of the game but also more variety of kicks. It’s just a difference from being at Exeter that I have gotten used to.
“You have to be a bit more careful these days because everything seems to be quite outcome based,” he added about the aerial contest. “It doesn’t matter that you are going for the ball. If the guy catching it, the so-called receiver, if he ends up head or neck, you have got to be a bit more careful in that respect but my aerial skills are alright.”
Next on the getting-used-to agenda is the suite of law directives that World Rugby introduced from January 1 to speed up the action. The Sale game at Harlequins is their first under the upgrade, but O’Flaherty isn’t a fan of the frequent alterations.
“In principle, it seems good but they seem to change the laws all the time. I don’t know. In principle, yeah, but we’ll see. They always get a period of over-correction in the first few weeks and I’m sure there will be some of that. We’ll see. I don’t know. The scrum and lineout, neither of them are particularly my bag so it doesn’t really affect me much.
“Does the game need to change? It is hard to change the game completely because it’s a great game. The rules are quite quirky as it is but they sort of underpin the whole thing and they are quite intricate. Sometimes the law changes seem to come in mid-season and I don’t know whether they have consulted on them. I don’t know but someone is changing them somewhere. Some of them are good to be fair. I quite like the 50/22 rule, I actually think that is a good rule and then others seem to change and then change back. I don’t know – but the 50/22 is a good one.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Is Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
17 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
17 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
2 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
17 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
17 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
17 Go to commentsCouldnt agree more. SA sides need to show more committment and really have a go at the Champions Cup. Its quite possibly the most prestigious title in Europe and SA sides need to respect that prestige and serve up their best. EPCR needs to do more to ensure that sides from South Africa and sides travelling to and from SA have a better chance in this competition. The Bulls were put in a really difficult position of having to travel there and back in one week. One could argue that this is what the SA sides signed up for and that La Rochelle didnt complain or send out weakened sides despite having to travel to SA and back and play on successive weekends but surely the situation is also unfair on La Rochelle as well and so EPCR needs to think about successive gameweeks and the travel effect of the competition
17 Go to commentsI hadn’t watched much Canes this season but sat through a replay of that Chiefs game with no distractions. That pack is beastly. I really like the look of Iose. He loves the tough stuff. The first Quins clip may be the best I have even seen for a TH driving his opposite into oblivion. i need to take your word for the contribution of Walker, but Collier there with a straight back pushing up from under was a lovely thing to see. Have you fallen in love with Baxter also, Nick? I think Stuart Barnes may have written his column about him recently, naked. He positively frothed.
14 Go to commentsSmart guy. I wish he was running the RFU or something!
2 Go to commentsWhy Barrett, when Leinster already have at least 4 top centres.?
15 Go to commentsGood write up, Brett. Rebels are an interesting one for sure. 88 points scored in the last two games, but against two teams that are unlikely to be in the top 4 at seasons end. However the other side of the coin, against the Hurricanes, the team to beat atm, they conceded 54 points, and add in another 53 points to the then high flying Reds, and things don’t look so good. The acid tests will be against the Blues and the Chiefs. I do hope they do contest the finals this year, if only to confound those working on their demise. Les Kiss has made a big difference to the Qld. Reds, and they could so easily have now been sitting unbeaten at the top of the table. But they have now lost some games in a most disappointing fashion, and now step up against the Highlanders this weekend seriously depleted, four absolute key players down, two to suspension, two injured. Of the other Australian sides, the Brumbies look unlikely to fold to anyone any time soon, while the Waratahs and Force both disappoint. But still and all, winning games against the NZ sides is very welcome, and one would hope for more to come. Who will come out on top ? A North Island side for sure should contest the final, but I would hope an Australian side might just get there this year. Brumbies most likely, Qld. Reds could be formidable with a full team back on the field.
12 Go to commentsThe stat that illustrates some progress compared to recent years is that Aussie sides have won 5 of 12 games against Kiwi sides. The Tahs have lost 2 tight games against Kiwi sides, while the Reds and Tahs have contrasting experiences in games against Kiwi sides decided by that farcical thing called golden point.
12 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes pack has stepped up in a huge way this year. Their improvement at scrum time has been a big contributor to their success. Aumua looks like he is playing with a lot of confidence and put in a really good display at both set piece and in general play on Saturday. Him and Numia are putting in a good case for higher honours, A dominate combination with Lomax will help their case. And their loose forward depth is class. Iose has benefited from regular game time and Lakai has shown his versatility and promise. Thanks Nick. Hope all is well.
14 Go to commentsSamoa have enough former internationals who want to flick a switch for a country most have probably hardly set foot in. If you’re that passionate about Samoa, go live and play rugby there to qualify instead of just waltzing into the side and kicking a player actually from Samoa out of the squad. All these ex internationals hasn’t really made them that much more competitive because most look like they're going through the motions.
2 Go to commentsKini Naholo at 14 brings to memory Waisake.
1 Go to commentsGrace, much like Luke Jacobson, has never looked like the same player since his run of injuries. He also looked much better as a 6 than an 8. He still looks like he doesn't completely understand the position.
2 Go to comments