'You wouldn't see him in the middle of a dance circle like a Faf'
Raffi Quirke has enjoyed an accelerated rise to prominence in 2021, the 2o-year-old making his breakthrough at Sale in the new Alex Sanderson era and then earning inclusion as one of eight uncapped players in Eddie Jones’ England training squad for next week’s mini-camp in London. Not bad for a scrum-half whose first-team experience so far amounts to 13 appearances, just his second start coming in last Saturday’s Premiership win over Bath.
Half-backs by their nature are typically extroverted characters, but Sanderson has been telling RugbyPass about how Quirke, a recent Six Nations U20s Grand Slam winner with England, goes against the grain of that established pattern and is an exception to the unwritten rule that nines and tens must be cocky individuals.
“He’s not cut from that cloth, he is almost the opposite of that,” outlined Sanderson when RugbyPass asked the Sale boss for an insight into what type of character will hook up with the England squad after Sunday’s round two league outing at London Irish. “He is very humble. I wouldn’t say quiet but he is not an extrovert.
“He is gregarious, has got a lot of good friends but you wouldn’t see him in the middle of a dance circle like a Faf (de Klerk). Faf did hip hop dance at school, so that is why he can do it, he can really dance well. Raf can but not as well. He is extremely industrious, he is self-critical to a fault.
“So if you go to him after a session and ask for his reflection straight afterwards he will go straight to the bad kick, the bad pass which is a really admirable quality but potentially, for a really world-class nine, you need a little bit of cockiness maybe without being arrogant.
"It was a tough question to answer"
– Manu Tuilagi on the awkward moment at Sale that promoted a weight loss drive with the ultimate target of losing a stone #Sale #England #LIRvSAL https://t.co/8xxGp7IvLs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 22, 2021
“You need a bit of that diamond-hard resilience where if you do the odd thing wrong because you see the ball a lot, it’s just water off a duck’s back. Not to say that it [the mistake] sits with him, I am not saying that because he just gets on with it. But over time in a big environment, it could be a factor that affects him mentally. We’re working on that with him, not to be so hard on himself, but he is almost the opposite of what you assume your stereotypical half-back would be.
“He is very industrious in terms of his process, his reflection process, his attention for each and every session, how he structures that for the week to get the most out of the week and the most out of himself to put himself in the right mental attitude, his curiousness to go and seek out a senior player and talk to them, to feed off them, so he and Faf are very close,” continued Sale boss Sanderson who only arrived at the Manchester club last January.
“And coming back to his potential, how hypercritical he is of himself at times is the one thing that has forced him to progress as fast as he has. He is constantly looking to improve all the time rather than sit on the talent he has got which is massive and obvious, but it is never good enough for him. He has accelerated himself through his own industry really, his own diligence.”
Despite that diligence, did Sanderson genuinely envisage an England call-up happening for Quirke just eight months after he took over from Steve Diamond? “I knew it was a matter of time. Honestly, he was that good. It was just a matter of time and exposure. I didn’t think he would get there this quick – but he is not there, he is just in the training squad and we’ll see what happens.”
"This might be the jolt the pair need to rediscover their mojo"
– Ex-England out-half @AndyGoode10 runs the rule over the latest squad selected by Eddie Jones #Englandhttps://t.co/KOJ6i3xcWh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 22, 2021
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