Nick Cain talks to Alex Sanderson
Don’t fret Eddie, Sarries’ Super Six will be ready for England
ALEX Sanderson is confident that Saracens will deliver the ‘Super Six’ England stars who are crucial to England’s 2021 Six Nations campaign in prime condition when Eddie Jones convenes his pre-tournament camp towards the end of this month.
There is no question that England captain Owen Farrell, world class second row Maro Itoje, Lions Test hooker Jamie George, the powerhouse Vunipola brothers, loosehead Mako and No.8 Billy, and the quixotic Elliot Daly at full-back, are such core components in the England head coach’s plans that they are indispensable.
Over the next few weeks the same could be said of Sanderson, because there is no one in the game who has worked more closely with the halfdozen Saracens stars than their triple European Cup and multiple Premiership-winning forwards/defence coach – and therefore in such an influential position to help them hit the ground running.
That success has deservedly made Sanderson a hot property, and there are a number of clubs interested in his services – with Sale rumoured to be at the top of the list – despite Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, stating that with two years to go on his contract the club expect him to stay.
Sanderson would not comment on the speculation about his own future, however he was happy to reassure Jones that Saracens would use all their expertise to ensure that the Super Six will be primed for action when they arrive at England’s training camp.
Jones’ main concern is that with Saracens relegated and a delayed start to the Championship of March 6, players who are intrinsic to his plans of retaining the Six Nations title could be unprepared and offthe-pace going into England’s tournament opener against Scotland on February 6.
A specific concern is that there is no substitute for match-fitness, and that it is hard to make amends for the Saracens stars having a twomonth block without a match since the extra-time Autumn Nations Cup victory over France on December 6.
Sanderson argues that the club’s experience in having to juggle the requirements of international calls with players also peaking for crucial European and Premiership matches over many years, has given them important insights that can solve the problem.
He says: “Our England boys needed a bit of a break with the new season starting so soon after the end of the last one, when their Saracens commitments in the European Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals were followed by the final round of the 2020 Six Nations, and then the Autumn Nations Cup. So this period has acted like a mini pre-season.
Sanderson continues: “That is no bad thing, and we have discussed with them on an individual basis the cardiovascular and contact work that will be required before they go into the England training camp for the 2021 Six Nations.”
He explains: “I believe it is not so much about match-fitness as matchsharpness. When you do not play for a while you miss that reaction time in the contact area. That’s why, for example, we often scrum more intensively in training than we do in a game. It’s one of our fundamentals, and we pride ourselves on preparing with great intensity, so that we are ready for whatever comes.”
Sanderson says the appliance of sports science at Saracens by performance director Phil Morrow has been a game-changer. “We know from experience that players can pull muscles easily if they go straight from pre-season training to game-style intensity training, so we understand the need to get the right amount of loading at the right time. That’s why workload, fatigue levels, and diet, are all very carefully monitored, and it is where the GPS tracking equipment makes an important contribution.”
He adds: “Would it be nice for them to get a game in before they go into England camp? Yes, but my understanding of coming back to play after a post-season lay-off is that if you threw them back into a game straight away, it would be almost foolish given the workload they have had over the last 12 months.”
Sanderson says that Farrell, Itoje and company have been champing at the bit since returning to Saracens training last week. “They have come back to the club and performed brilliantly well, and my personal opinion is that they do not need a game as much as they need game-intensity training.”
However, he concedes that there is a chance that they could have the best of both worlds if Saracens and other leading Championship clubs manage to arrange an abbreviated competition before the Six Nations.
Irrespective of match action, Sanderson’s belief in the capacity of the Saracens six to rise to the challenge is unwavering, not least because of the standards they set themselves.
“I was very proud and impressed with all of them in the Autumn Internationals. Serving only one master by being in the England camp all the time – rather than two, with them coming back to the club – allowed them to really focus on their goalYou could see that in the freshness, inten- and sharpness they brought to the matches.”
As Sanderson goes through his own appraisal of each of them, the pride is blended with an objectivity which could help them, and Jones, to drive England onwards and upwards in 2021.
He starts with Itoje. “He’s ace. Maro rode the line expertly between being an absolute menace and conceding (few) penalties, and is getting better all the time. But he wasn’t all that impressed with his own acceleration as an international player – and that explains why he has got where he has. What is interesting about Maro is that he sets his own standards for himself, rather than listening to what is being said about him.”
Next there is a frank commentary on Farrell, and why Sanderson believes England will get the best out of him at fly-half.
“Faz is a 10 as far as we’re con
“We often scrum more intensively in training than we do in a game. It’s one of our fundamentals”
cerned – but the main thing I’d want is for the ball to be in his hands as much as possible because of what he can do in terms of passing and accuracy. He’s also got a very adapted mindset, and is a better leader than he was because he is more measured and reflective.
“After the Wales game he said England wanted to be able to win in a number of different ways, and although they were pragmatic in the way they played, mainly because of the breakdown laws, they showed character to win when things didn’t always go their way.”
There is a balanced report too, of the way that competition from Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie has brought the best out of Jamie George.
“Jamie is looking better and fitter than for a long time, and often it’s good when there’s someone pushing you hard. Luke Cowan-Dickie is a brilliant player, and there are very few forwards better with ball in hand, but Jamie has risen to the challenge. The Saracens European Cup quarter-final win against Leinster showed he is still the best set-piece hooker in the world – and he delivers consistently at that level, as he proved during the autumn.”
Sanderson says that Billy Vunipola is another who has risen to the challenge of rivals gunning for the England No.8 shirt.
“The more Billy plays the better he gets – and he played some of his best rugby this autumn when he was under pressure from hybrid No.8s like Ben Earl and Sam Simmonds. He plays at his best when he is settled in an environment, and fully immersed. There was progression in the timing and effectiveness of his tackles, and his defensive contribution was very good.
“I’d like to take credit for that, but it was mainly his own work. We worked a bit on him dropping his shoulder height when he tackled so he wasn’t damaging his arm as much. While you want line-speed, it’s also about shortening your stride as you near the ball-carrier and getting your feet closer to the tackle, rather than going in too fast and over-extending your arm.”
There was also a fanfare from the Saracens forwards coach for Mako Vunipola for his grit and determination in rebounding from the scrum mauling by South Africa in the 2019 World Cup final.
“Mako has always looked about 45, and he’s recently had his second child. A lot of the blame was placed on him after the World Cup final, but it is an eight man job. Even so, he took the brunt of that, and came back and said, ‘I need to do more’. He’s a brilliant person, because, rather than just say it was a bad day at the office he said, ‘I need to get better again’.
There was no clearer signal of the gains the loosehead has made than the manner in which the Saracens scrum re-asserted itself in the 2020 European Cup knock-out stage, dominating Leinster, and also making life uncomfortable for Racing.
Sanderson is confident that the improvement will continue. “Mako will have a very clear plan worked out with our scrummaging coach Ian Peel, and he also understands what works for him, so when he goes into those Six Nations matches he’ll go into them in a good place.
He was the bloke chipping away at training on Tuesday...he keeps driving himself, and is as emotionally invested now as he was eight years ago.”
When Sanderson turns to Daly, there is a sense again that England have not yet tapped into what he can bring in attack.
“Elliot is world class at both centre and wing, but he’s such a good lad that he doesn’t put his own desires ahead of what the team needs, and currently for England that’s at full-back. Some of his kicking in the autumn was pin-point, but he is best in attack when he gets a bit of time and space. You can see elements of it at full-back when he hits the line in the wider channels, but we’ve yet to see how effective his running game can be.”
Overall, however, the feelgood factor that Eddie Jones can take from Sanderson’s status report is that the Saracens ‘Super Six’ which forms the spine of his England team, will be ready, willing and strong come the Six Nations.
“Billy played some of his best rugby under pressure from Ben Earl and Sam Simmonds”