ALEX: WE’RE EXPECTING AN EMOTIONAL FROM “PROUD” QUINS
Alex Sanderson says his Sharks will be wary of an emotional backlash on Sunday from a Harlequins side beaten heavily at Gloucester in round two.
Quins head to the CorpAcq Stadium with a point to prove after starting the season with two defeats, including the 48-0 thumping at Kingsholm.
And speaking to the media ahead of the weekend, the Sharks DoR said his team, who got their campaign back on track with victory over Saracens, will be ready to face the best the wounded Londoners can bring.
“You have to be aware of a backlash,” Alex said. “I don’t need to warn them because it was the lads who mentioned that in a meeting.
“You can’t read the minds of men but given that they’ve lost two games, and after what was said after the game about them being embarrassed, there’s always going to be an emotional response because they’re proud players and it’s a proud club.
“We always see the physical best of them when they come up here anyway so we need to make sure we match them, if not better them, from an emotional point of view.
“And then try to understand where that response is going to come from and which personnel they’re going to lean into.”
Alex said he was happy with plenty of what he saw from his side in their 17-21 win at the StoneX on Sunday but he insisted there was work to do on his side’s discipline.
“The tone has been quite measured – not too celebratory,” he added. “We made it really difficult for ourselves during a period when we went down to 13 men, and conceded nine penalties.
“So that’s what we addressed. We also had a reinforcement of how well we dealt with it, but we hold ourselves to standards higher than just the outcome.
“The foundations of how we want to play are rooted in the values and traditions of this part of the world – we lean into our grit and our physicality. We’ve been clear on that.
“We have to have those foundations to layer on the other stuff that we want to add this season.
“There are no easy games in the PREM and we know we have to be ready this weekend for the best of them.”
Alex also confirmed that both Ben Curry and Luke Cowan-Dickie were available selection but a decision will be taken on Tom Roebuck’s involvement later in the week.
Tickets are available for Sunday’s game here.
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