Opposition players can expect to be treated that same violent way in the coming weeks and months, but the back row’s media image as a cautious, guarded operator was candidly dismantled last Thursday in the Sale first floor boardroom at Carrington.
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“He is more Chuck Norris than Robert Redford, but we also used to call him Catweazle.” That was the considered verdict of Steve Diamond when encapsulating Mike Forshaw, the assistant coach that Warren Gatland has recruited to shore up leaky Wales.
Moana Pasifika coach Aaron Mauger has opted for the tried and tested for next year's Super Rugby Pacific season, naming just one uncapped player in the squad for 2023.
Both teams enter the match with just one win under their belt and are searching for a second to reignite their respective seasons. The match will be the start of a significant rivalry between the two Pacific Island teams.
Courtney Lawes and Tom Curry, the duo who captained England in their recent five-game Guinness Six Nations campaign, are back in action on Friday night for their respective clubs, Northampton and Sale, following injury.
Moana Pasifika have made nine changes to their starting team as they eye back-to-back Super Rugby Pacific victories over the Hurricanes in Wellington on Tuesday.
England winger Jack Nowell has shed light on how exactly his fellow international teammates got stuck in an elevator in a London hotel for nearly an hour and half last week.
Saracens come out on top in slugfest over Sale, the Samoans put on a sad show at Twickenham and the URC flies in to Covid chaos
Undefeated North Harbour play host to the undefeated Tasman Mako in this explosive week three Mitre 10 Cup clash. Follow tonight's action and join the conversation here.