Jones puts Ross in the reckoning for South Africa tour
Coach inquired about Sale No8, says Diamond Loose forward would ‘love’ to play for England
England coach Eddie Jones is monitoring the progress of Sale’s South African-born No8 Jono Ross ahead of the summer tour to his homeland. Ross, 27, hails from Sandton in Johannesburg, but is English-qualified on account of his grandmother, Betty Hicks from Essex, and is eligible for the tour.
Steve Diamond, the Sale director of rugby, revealed that Jones had inquired about Ross, who was twice let go by Blue Bulls in South Africa before joining Sale in 2017 after three years with Stade Francais.
“We have had conversations with Eddie and Steve [Borthwick, England forwards coach] about Jono,” Diamond said. “All we can do is to get him to play like he has been playing and then we back it up with the odd conversation.
“I don’t think he will become the star, but I think he would certainly be in the running to be first on the teamsheet if I am honest.”
Ross is modestly upbeat about his roundabout career path. “I don’t mind the way it has gone for me. If it comes too easy then you can fade away, whereas it did not come very easy for me,” Ross told The Daily Telegraph. “I had to work very hard, I had to be determined, I had to keep at. Thankfully I have made a decent career out of it so far.”
Technically, Sale are Ross’s third English club. When he was at school he signed an 18-month academy deal with Harlequins. He ended up in digs with Joe Marler, Rory Clegg and Sam Smith, but found English life a culture shock and returned to South Africa after 11 months.
“I was probably too young and immature,” Ross said. “If I look back I learnt a lot about myself.”
He picked up a contract at the Bulls, but his deal was not renewed and, then 18, he signed as shortterm injury cover at Saracens.
Despite not making a senior appearance, he says his experience with Saracens was crucial to his development. “That was the point that my rugby career turned,” Ross said. “The Sarries ethos is well documented. As a junior I probably lacked a bit of work ethic. At Sarries I got that properly instilled in me.”
Returning to South Africa for a second time, he started playing university rugby for Tuks in Pretoria, where he did enough to get another crack of the whip with the Bulls, becoming their first English-speaking captain in the Currie Cup. Yet his progress was blocked by the considerable presence of Pierre Spies and Arno Botha in his preferred No 8 position, so when Stade Francais came calling in 2014, the Bulls told him he was welcome to leave.
He was happy in Paris. The opportunity to learn the ropes from Sergio Parisse was invaluable. Stade Francais won the Top 14 in 2015 and he also assumed the captaincy, but the good times would not last, with the club’s financial difficulties leading to a proposal to merge with Racing 92.
Diamond, who had been chasing Ross for three years, finally got his man last summer and, after an injury to Will Addison, installed him as his captain.
“Dimes showed a lot of faith in me and that has given me a lot of confidence,” Ross said. “I try my best to lead from the front with my actions, rather than my words.”
Tomorrow night Ross will attempt to lead Sale into the top four against fellow play-off chasers Newcastle. “We may not have the most talent, but we work hard, we believe in each other and we want to achieve something special.”
As an added incentive, there should be at least one England coach in the stands at Kingston Park tomorrow.
“If I managed to catch the eye that is something I would love to do,” Ross said. “I just want to play well for Sale and, if anything comes off the back of that, then great. Playing for England is definitely something I would love to do, but I am not thinking about it too much.”