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Sale boss Alex Sanderson has given injury hit England a massive Six Nations boost by revealing wrecking ball Manu Tuilagi is set to be recalled for the clash with Italy in Rome on February 13.
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Tuilagi has made a rapid return from the grade three hamstring tear he suffered just six minutes into England’s Autumn series 27-26 win over South Africa as he scored a try. It was feared Tuilagi would miss the entire Six Nations – a fate that has now befallen captain Owen Farrell who has undergone surgery on an ankle injury.
This has left major question marks over England’s midfield selection and Sanderson said that while Tuilagi, who has a newly arrived baby boy, is not ready to play against former club Leicester on Sunday he will be ready to face defending Premiership champions Harlequins the day after England face Scotland on February 5.
The Sale director of rugby is adamant that one game would be enough to allow Jones to call up Tuilagi to the squad to travel to Italy and said: “He is training and looking good but we think it is too much of a risk to push him this weekend.
“Harlequins is the projected return and then we will see how he feels for Six Nations. It is a week-to-week thing for Manu but England have total autonomy over when he plays and doesn’t play and if he looks really good and feels good, he will go straight through to England and it could be Italy.
“He is an exceptional trainer and a quick healer so all of his progressions are done on the back of hitting physiological markers and GPS speeds, rescans and seeing the specialist and we would never push him earlier. He is very diligent and is living a very wholesome life at the moment; doesn’t eat much meat, doesn’t got out and has just had a baby boy. All of these things are lending themselves to him pushing through the rehab quicker.
“The best players take the most care generally speaking and with some of them its because they are very demanding to get the best out of themselves and you need to meet with them and challenge them. Big players have big egos but Manu has none of those and he is the easiest man to manage but it is going to take time and focus and energy to manage the physical attributes he has. Manu helps manage other players because he is the spider’s web of interconnectivity with the friendships and trust he creates.
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“He has lost weight and we know now what he can function and maintain in terms of overall loadings per week. We know what is good for him and how far we can stretch that as the intensity goes up for international duty. It has to dovetail with the demands of the international game.”
Sanderson also believes Curry is ready if handed the England captaincy if Courtney Lawes is still troubled by concussion and said: “First he has the desire to take the lead and he has always been someone with the attributes to lead. He is really taken the bull by the horns and had the bit in his teeth when it comes to verbally driving the players – taking the lead in meetings and in those breaks in games on the field and he is good at it – better than me in terms of being concise.
“That’s part of it and we had a chat right after the Lions tour and up to this point has only been think about himself in preparation – what he needs to be in the right place and it was his awakening that he has to take into consideration other people and what they need in their prep to give their best performance for the team. That was the start; he talks more and is good at it and sees the need for it and has a great awareness of what the team needs in their preparation.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I 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.
8 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.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 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?
8 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?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to comments