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Sanderson's 6:30am phone call after Raffi Quirke England omission
Sale boss Alex Sanderson has revealed how he made a 6.30am phone call to his brother Pat, his fellow ex-England international, after Eddie Jones’ decision this week to omit young Raffi Quirke from selection plans for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener away to Scotland. The 20-year-old scrum-half played a crucial try-scoring role off the bench to help beat the Springboks just eleven weeks ago.
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However, the England matchday 23 for this weekend’s trip to Edinburgh is illustrative of how quickly things can change at Test level rugby. Eight players who featured in the win over the world champions are not involved this time around.
Injury accounted for Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May, Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes and Sam Underhill, but Bevan Rodd, Nic Dolly and Quirke are all absent due to Jones preferring different players.
Sale prop Rodd – a starter versus the Springboks due to Covid affecting the England front row – was part of the 29 retained on Tuesday before it was confirmed on Thursday that Ellis Genge will be the starting loosehead and Joe Marler the bench backup in that front row position.
It’s an understandable call given the wealth of experience that Genge and Marler have compared to Rodd. Experience, though, wasn’t the reason why Quirke lost out on a bench spot to Harry Randall as the Bristol scrum-half is just as inexperienced as Quirke at Test level as they each have just two caps.
It was Tuesday evening when it emerged that Randall had got the nod to remain in England camp and leave a dejected Quirke making his way home to Manchester where he will have Premiership rather than Six Nations exposure this weekend. “It’s probably the first time he has had any real setbacks in the last couple of years and at some point, this was always going to happen,” reasoned Sanderson about Quirke being deemed surplus to England requirements for the start of the Six Nations.
“I was chatting to my brother on Wednesday morning in my car at half-past six on the way in and he has been through it, just as I have been through, occasions in your life where you feel personally you were left out of a team you feel you should have been in and sometimes there are occasions when you make a team you should never have made.
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“Say Bev Rodd last autumn, through Covid. Over the course of time, they tend to even themselves out. Does it make it any easier for a young lad (like Raffi) who wants it now, who is ready now? That is the challenge we have with him to try and make him realise that he has got time on his hands and if he plays enough (for Sale) he will prove his worth and that was the conversion we had Tuesday night coming back home.
“He has only played three games with us the whole season so we feel he needs some game time just to prove his worth, to think he is good enough to be in the England squad but I would be biased. It would be pretty safe to assume he will be included this weekend against Quins.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
40 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
40 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
40 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
40 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
40 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
40 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
40 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
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