Vesty rules himself out of filling the Gold void
WORCESTER backs coach Sam Vesty has revealed he has no interest in becoming the club’s new director of rugby – only in turning his side’s season around.
Former Leicester utility back Vesty has made a good impression since joining Worcester in 2013 and his stock rose markedly over the summer when he was invited to coach England during their successful tour of Argentina.
However, he will not be throwing his hat in the ring to succeed Gary Gold when the South African becomes USA head coach next year.
Vesty, 35, said: “I’m not a DoR, I’m a tracksuit guy and the politics of it all don’t float my boat. I like to be on the pitch trying to get the most out of the players we’ve got – and I feel we’re making real improvements.”
Vesty views his side’s 41-35 Premiership loss to Quins a fortnight ago – a game that saw Warriors notch six tries in defeat – as a turning point.
He explained: “That performance at Quins a fortnight ago was a real shift in gear for us.
“You can get into a bit of a vicious cycle of losing confidence, but we’re getting that back now. If we can build on that at Harlequins with a few senior guys returning from injury, we believe we can start getting some wins.”
South African hooker Kurt Haupt makes his Warriors debut today, while England front row hopeful Nick Schonert gets a run off the bench after injury.
Worcester field a youthful line-up but Vesty is keen to maintain momentum ahead of next week’s Premiership clash with Northampton.
He added: “It’s been a challenging season, but over the last few weeks we’ve been much better and we’ve had four really good performances on the trot. We’ve got a big game against Saints next week.”
Harlequins need to build on a fine Anglo Welsh comeback at Saracens, where Josh Ibuanokpe’s last-gasp try sealed a shock 30-29 win.
Hooker Elia Elia, one of the stars of that stunning display, said: “It’s been a 50-50 kind of start for us in the league and Europe didn’t go very well, but that was a massive result at Saracens and we don’t want to waste that now.”
Elia is again handed the No.2 jersey while, after a false start last week, James Chisholm returns to captain the side from No.7.
Jamie Roberts and Tim Visser will look to shake off their international disappointments at inside-centre and fullback respectively.
High-energy Samoan Elia added: “The buzz is back in the Quins jersey and it’s important for us to get back-to-back wins.”