'Look, it's a failure potentially on my part but I tried...'
Alex Sanderson has described his mixed feelings following the recent sudden departure of Denny Solomona from Sale. The ex-England international was due to have contract extension talks with the Sharks only for the discussions to quickly end with Solomona being released early from his existing contract in order to return home to New Zealand. It was a turn of events that took Sale boss Sanderson by surprise as he and his staff had worked hard to get Solomona back into the first-team mix following his latest issues with mental health.
That desire was fulfilled in September when the 27-year-old came off the bench at London Irish to make his first appearance since February, a development that Sanderson described as one of his proudest moments since taking charge at the Sharks in early 2021.
Solomona went on to make six appearances in total this season but rather than that being the springboard to an extension of his stay at the Manchester club he joined from rugby league’s Castleford in 2016, his Premiership Cup start at Leicester on November 13 was instead his final match for the club as Sale announced 13 days later that the five-cap England winger was heading home to New Zealand for personal reasons and would potentially continue his playing career there.
Sanderson wished Solomona all the very best for the rest of his career and beyond in the media statement that accompanied the player’s release, but he revisited the situation this week when asked by RugbyPass to shed some light on what had transpired. “I am happy for him in that I think this could be what he needs for his overall happiness,” said the Sale director of rugby ahead of this weekend’s Champions Cup assignment at Ospreys.
“We tried everything we did but he probably wasn’t getting it here and I have always maintained that you need to be at least content in all parts of your life to get the best out of you on the field. The best players are those that have everything sorted and flowing. Denny didn’t have those things.
“I spoke to Ashy…”
– Sale boss Alex Sanderson on the Chris Ashton rumour and what he makes about the return of Steve Diamond to the Premiership #Sale #Worcester #GallagherPremhttps://t.co/eqCiyJRdWK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 9, 2021
“Look, it’s a failure potentially on my part but I tried, we tried with professionals, everything we could to get him in that right spot and try as we might, it was still too far a reach for him. I thought we were there and we were in parts, but it was a bit of a struggle. All of that sounds negative but it is not negative if he has gone to a better place and he and his family are happy. That is the way I can justify my efforts and not feel like I let him down. I don’t think I have let him down. We have helped him get to a place where he was miles better than he was when I turned up.
“He knows what he wants. He has taken his family out there (to New Zealand) and I think it has put him in a good place. There are mixed feelings there, mixed feelings because I didn’t get what I wanted out of him here but I think we will probably see more of him to come.
“I have heard he has gone back to New Zealand, he missed his parents, his mum terribly. Hadn’t seen her for years. That was part of his motivation and he has now got a little daughter and a Wiganese wife, so he has taken a bit of Wigan back to New Zealand to see his parents. He was a little bit late on the recruitment front but he is probably doing the rounds for teams who need a back three player or have an injury and he can just jump in there at the last minute and that would be his route through to Super.”
It was 2017 when the Auckland-born Solomona made his England debut as a sub winger away to Argentina. He went on to play four more times as a replacement but the June 2018 Cape Town win over the Springboks was his last matchday involvement under Eddie Jones and the chances are that history will treat his Test career as a case of what might have been even though there is the possibility that he could now switch allegiance to Samoa under the tweaked World Rugby eligibility regulations.
Having come through the coaching ranks at Saracens, ex-England back row Sanderson knows what it takes to have a lengthy Test career having been involved over the years with coaching the likes of England skipper Owen Farrell. He made his 100th international appearance last month in the win over Australia, his 94th cap for England to add to the six won with the Lions.
“If you look at just the statistics and his ability to earn 50 caps, yes he [Solomona] has not been an Owen Farrell. I had a bit of an insight into Owen’s background and I understand how well supported he has been throughout his life, through his parents and everything else. He basically lived at home until he was about 24, 25 and is still very close with his dad and his mum.
“He has got a very stable support base which he has made the most of because he is an unbelievable individual. I don’t think Denny had any of that, he hasn’t had any of that. I don’t want to get too personal but he was from the back streets of Auckland, he has gone around everywhere and, as you know because he has been in the press, he has had a quite tumultuous backstory of relationships and ambivalence.
“He has now got himself to a place where he wants to see his family, he is very much in love with his wife, they have got a baby girl, and maybe that is the springboard, the platform for him to push on. I am sure it is, that is why I think it is a good thing for him to be doing in going back there. He hasn’t achieved what maybe he could have achieved (with England) but I don’t think he has been given a level playing field.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments