Wounded Harlequins view Anthony Joshua as ideal inspiration for hitting back at Ulster
Paul Gustard is urging his Harlequins players to use Anthony Joshua’s world boxing title triumph to inspire them to victory over Ulster next Friday and keep their Heineken Champions Cup campaign alive.
Harlequins have to bounce back just six days after their debilitating late 25-24 loss to Ulster in Belfast and Quins boss Gustard has shown his squad Joshua’s post-fight interview as an example of how to gain revenge for a narrow loss.
Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr last Saturday to regain the heavyweight world title belts he lost to the same fighter and Gustard believes the motivation that underpinned that win is very relevant heading into the return European fixture with Ulster at the Twickenham Stoop.
After a late John Cooney penalty won the game for Ulster, Gustard and his players watched the Joshua fight live on TV in Belfast and he then used the video of the post-fight interview in a team meeting back at their Surrey training base.
“We have taken a lot of inspiration from Joshua-Ruiz, in particular his post-fight interview when he talked about learning from the first fight, staying humble and learning the lessons having failed the first exam,” said Gustard, the former England defence coach, to RugbyPass.
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“He had good preparation, belief in himself, control of his discipline and emotions and he executed what the coaches asked him to do.
“Those four or five key learnings we showed to the squad and this is our second exam against Ulster and we have a great opportunity to get the result that we want and stay alive in the competition.
“As the saying, goes, it’s not over until the fat lady sings and we have three chances to get three wins (in the pool) and give ourselves an opportunity to progress. As a squad, we had a few beers on Saturday night and watched the Joshua-Ruiz fight because we wanted the boys to have a memory of Belfast and it was a great place to visit.
‘I always wanted to try being a head coach and give it a go, but I was never tripping over myself to do it’
– @dan10mcfarland talks to @heagneyl about @UlsterRugby, @JCooney09, @ChampionsCup and the arrival on Saturday of @Harlequins at the Kingspanhttps://t.co/GVa10gOMX9— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 7, 2019
“On Sunday, I saw a video of Joshua’s post-fight interview and that is what I showed the squad. Joshua talked about where his mindset was and how he dusted himself down from the first loss and how he looked at himself rather than the opposition.
“The analogy very simple to see – he fought he same guy twice and we get the chance to play the same opposition six days later and take the learnings from our game which could be opportunities in attack, frailties in defence or set-piece and middle-game management.
“We have identified the critical ones and that is the basis of our game plan that we are working on this week. There is limited time to prepare and we need to focus on the two or three things we can fix.”
Surgery is set to rule Brown out for six to nine months. https://t.co/3dwsPmrFHS
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 2, 2019
Gustard is finding himself having to deal with questions about player contracts at this crucial time of the year, but he insists he is not going to enter into any more public discussions or concentrate on individual players.
England prop Kyle Sinckler is reportedly a target for Bristol while highly-rated flanker Alex Dombrandt is in negotiations for a new Quins contract with Quins.
Gustard said: “Everyone wants to talk about three or four players but I have X-amount of players off contract and to highlight three or four is unfair on the other players and their negotiations. We have decided as a club not to talk about it.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Great piece Nick, plenty to chew on. Loved this ‘biases’ line from Geoff, shows he is a thinker - “If you asked me for a shortlist of coaches who appealed to my biases, he would be on it.” I think Schmidt is towing a similar line to Rennie in regards to OS players, he is publicly saying he prefers local talent, but almost certainly will be fighting to have the likes of skelton in the team. Interesting to hear the backroom on the rebels and what a cockup that is, just when you think RA admin has hit rock bottom it digs deeper. Other bit that caught my eye was his skills focus on things like passing from 7s at the base of the lineout, great little details. but also scary that a SR level 8 didn’t know how to operate within a lineout - telling!
20 Go to commentsThoroughly enjoyed this thanks Nick. ‘The lineout starts on the ground…’ wish I’d thought of that line when discussing Will’s place in the Wallabies.
20 Go to commentsShannon Frizell’s second year is optional is how I heard it. Given nothing has been confirmed yet it gets more and more likely he signs to return next year. Cant wait to see Finau doing more work on Internal players.
29 Go to commentsBlindside flankers should be hard hitting defenders, good lineout jumper with height, and a hard worker who hits and cleans rucks. If he can be a destructive ball carrier it’s a bonus but not a necessity. Samipeni Fineau and Cullen Grace are excellent at those core skills and my choice at blindside. Brad Shields is dismissed because he is 33 but not sure why that should be a consideration for this season. Shields too does these core roles well. Just don’t pick an 8 and shift him to 6 like the wingers on The Breakdown suggest, as if 6 and 8 are interchangeable. They are not. An 8 is first and foremost a dynamic ball carrier, not necessarily a destructive defender as a 6 should be. Devon Flanders and Akira Ioane are #8 s forced to play blindside because their teams have better options at 8 than them. Do not pick them at blindside
29 Go to commentsSaints obviously didn’t get the memo, or needed an ego boost?
1 Go to commentsReturning to the Chiefs would be another good change that could only put him into a better position to succeed in black
6 Go to commentsSimply outrageous and demonstrably false to say Finau’s tackle on Lynagh was “2 seconds late” In reality it was probably 0.5 seconds after he passed the ball. If you carry the ball at speed to within 5m of the defensive line you can expect to get tackled. Finau could have pulled out of it and not absolutely flattened him for sure, but there was going to be contact either way. He seems like a high risk selection at the moment, but there is no one else like him in NZ at the moment. His big tackles make the highlight reels but he is also a great athlete, very fast for such a big man, spent most of his days at lock so also very strong in the line out.
29 Go to commentsYes, Finau looks like the best option. Blackadder is not big enough for an international 6 - he should join the queue at 7. Frizzell had the power and heft and line-out height to play lock, so maybe that is where the ABs should be looking, not at a 7 who’s not big enough for 6, but at a lock who might have the agility to play 6, like Scott Barrett, or… Natai Ah Kuoi, who absolutely fits that bill, but seldom gets to play 6 because the Chiefs have so many loosies.
29 Go to commentsPaul Quinn was a National MP.
6 Go to commentsNo need to worry about losers’ mentality hysteria from Australia. Finau has all the attributes, I don't recall a high or no arms tackle from him, and his timing has been controlled very well since the round 3 Lynagh tackle. It's an easy decision for Razor, the only question is who should back him up from the bench. He can't be overworked like Squire was in his first full season.
29 Go to comments“Reds coach Les Kiss saying later: “I think every player has the right to feel safe.” Maybe Rugby is the wrong sport for people who want to feel safe..?
29 Go to commentsNot sure what the context was, but the highlights showed one scrum against Aussie where the baby Blacks were going backwards at a pace. The pack has been the issue since 2017, so they might be in for another reality check soon. This tournament should really have been two rounds, would have learned a lot more.
1 Go to commentsPeter Lakai has a ‘lot of size’? Since when? To Kirifi maybe. I think Laidlaw clearly saw he’s too small for 6 or 8, so plonked him at 7. Has potential to be Ardies understudy in black for 7.
6 Go to commentsDalton for skipper?
16 Go to commentsOh he's ‘Irish qualified’ isn't that convenient. If Ireland get any more Kiwis (and Aussie) in their backline they might need to run out in green and black kit soon. How is the supposed best rugby system in the world in need of trawling for journeyman Kiwi players?
2 Go to commentsCallum Grace is playing well now that he's finally back in his best position. But given it was Razor who somehow thought Grace was dynamic enough to be a No8 when he's clearly not, Im not sure he’d backtrack on that. Finau is risky with his style, and there's almost no point picking Blackadder when he can’t stay on the field more than five minutes.
29 Go to commentsThe team on paper has more supposed ‘stars’ than a lot of the sides they’re losing to. They’ve got the Razor-blues and aren't playing for Penney. He should jump before he's pushed.
1 Go to commentsProof. That if you lay dramatic instrumental hip hop music over a video of a skinny pale white kid running an unopposed zig zag on a training ground filled with rookies - it’ll look next-level epic!
13 Go to commentsIf they win the challenge Cup then it will have all been worth it. If they don’t, then maybe he should go. Lots of ppl seem to think very highly of him as a coach, but maybe he would be better working under someone. Any top sides looking for forwards coaches rn?
1 Go to commentsJason Ryan knows his craft as forwards coach and I'm sure he’ll hold sway with Scott Robertson of who he feels worthy of selection…his credentials validated when he put a 7xcaps between them front row...Ethan, Samisoni and Lomax on Ellis Park…Go the AB's…
29 Go to comments