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Kyle Sinckler issues 'chilled-out demeanour' warning about Samoa
Kyle Sinckler has warned England not to be fooled by the laid-back off-field nature of Samoa, this Saturday’s Pool D Rugby World Cup opponents in Lille.
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Steve Borthwick’s side have already qualified for an October 15 quarter-final fixture in Marseille with a game to spare, but tighthead Sinckler has issued an appeal for his teammates to be careful given his experiences at Bristol with Samoan pair Steven Luatua and Chris Vui, whom he faces this weekend.
“They are both pretty chilled out, they don’t say too much,” he explained. “Both have leadership roles at Bristol. Don’t tend to say too much, more lead with their actions.
“Two massively physical players, great lineout options, great hands, good offloading skills, but honestly couldn’t be any more different than they are off the rugby field, literally the most chilled our personalities you will ever meet. They are really, really cool guys.
“When I first joined Bristol there was a big Pacific Islander culture. You have Pat (Lam, director of rugby) and you had Alapati (Leiua), John Afoa, Steve Luatua, Chris Vui, Charles Piutau, Charles’ brother (Siale), there was a big islander influence and with Semi (Radradra), Siva (Naulago) and my time just in rugby, you always are around Pacific Islanders so you kind of have a general idea and one of those things – especially up front – is they are extremely physical.
“Don’t be fooled by their nice demeanour and chilled-out demeanour, they can definitely flick the switch and when it is time to go, those guys can really go. It’s going to be a big test for the team that goes out there on Saturday against a hugely physical Samoa side.
“All our focus is on the Samoa game, we don’t want to look too far ahead because the moment you take your eye off the ball, that is kind of when you get in a bit of trouble. It’s great for me personally to be here, to be a part of the team. The last three games we have gone very well but the job in hand is Samoa and that is all our focus.”
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Sinckler added that Luatua and Vui were immensely useful in helping him to settle when first arrived at Bristol in 2020. “100 per cent. Even though Surrey to Bristol is only an hour and a half, two hours, at that time in my life that was a huge move for me. All I knew growing up was Harlequins and living in London or Surrey where the training ground was, and then to move to Bristol was huge.
“Those guys, Chris, Steve, Pat and your Bristolians like your Joe Joyces, your Callum Sheedys even though apparently he is Welsh, your Harry Randalls, those guys, Andy Urens really, really made me feel welcome.
“For me, they showed what it was like to play for Bristol because it is a real community feel and, to be honest, I couldn’t speak more highly of Steve and Chris, they are really stand-up guys and they have always made me feel welcome ever since I joined Bristol.”
Regarding the presence of former All Blacks forward Luatua in the Samoan ranks, Sinckler reckoned the change in the Test rugby eligibility rules is a positive for the sport.
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“Knowing Stevie personally, I know it means a lot to him and Charles as well who made the decision to go back and play for Tonga. Knowing those guys it was more about giving back to their community and where they are from.
“Obviously massively appreciative to play for the All Blacks but the sense I got from those guys was that they wanted to give something back to their community.
"I'm chewing his ear off, 'I know I can play for England'. He was, 'Calm down, you’ll be fine, just keep listening to me, son."
– The vivid 2015 Harlequins social memory and what it now means to Kyle Sinckler to be at his second Rugby World Cup #EnglandRugby #ENGvSAM #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/5UnwQ6GixZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 4, 2023
“If you just look at the Tonga game against South Africa and how competitive those guys were, look at Samoa in the World Cup and how competitive that team has been, it’s nothing but good for rugby those guys coming back and strengthening those so-called tier two nations.
“It doesn’t feel like that when you are playing against these teams every test match is highly competitive but when you have the likes of Charles and Steve Luatua, Charlie Faumuina has come back to play for them, (Christian) Leali’ifano etc, etc, these guys are world-class players. It’s good to see and it’s good for rugby.”
By coincidence, England will have Manu Tuilagi in their ranks, coming up against the country of his birth and a Samoa team his brothers represented in the past. “Manu has been around the block for a while now but he has never actually played against Samoa so I think he is looking forward to it and it should be fun.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments