Sale Sharks suffered a significant injury blow in the early goings of the match against Saracens, as their fly half talisman George Ford departed the StoneX Stadium.
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Ford was ushered off the pitch, yet was able to walk off on his own two feet, after picking up a quad injury just four minutes into the match. Ford sustained the injury as he kicked at goal, in what was his second attempt at the sticks.
Sale Sharks Head of Medical Navdeep Sandhu provided an update after the match.
“George, yes, just about his quad. So when he went for that long distance kick, he felt like he could carry on, but that was just slightly aware of it. I suspected that that would probably mean it would get worse and worse as it goes, so we decided to make the change. We’ll get him in there. And, yeah, he’s a little bit sore, too bad.”
“It’s probably too early to say (how long Ford will be out for). The fact that we’re going to get an image on it, probably means that we suspected something.”
Saracens centre Alex Lozowski spoke on the early exit for Ford, and how it impacted his opponents this afternoon.
“When any team loses their best player in a minute and a half, or two minutes, it’s going to be disruptive. Rob’s (Du Preez) great player as well. I think he did well stepping in at late notice. But obviously, you know, Rob would be the first say that ‘they wanted George to stay on’ and it probably didn’t help their cause.
“They had a couple of other injuries as well in the first half, which wouldn’t have helped them. So fair play to them for really sticking at it and making life difficult. And I think everyone knows that they’ll be competing the season.”
Richie McCaw’s all-time rugby dream team is something special
Captaining the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, from 2006 to 2015, McCaw led them to two Rugby World Cup victories.
Known for his exceptional leadership, tenacity, and skill, he remains an iconic figure in rugby, earning numerous accolades and leaving an indelible mark on the game.
Extracted from a series of interviews, here is our interpretation of how his dream team would be arranged.
RICHIE MCCAW DREAM TEAM:
BACK-THREE:
- 15. Christian Cullen (New Zeland)
- 14. Julian Savea (New Zealand)
- 11. Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)
McCawon Lomu: “When I first became an All Black he was in the team. To play alongside a guy you have watched as a young fella was pretty amazing. He made me look silly in training more than once.
“He is one of the absolute superstars of rugby. If you go to somewhere where rugby is perhaps not well known then the one guy they do know is Jonah. It’s really sad that he’s passed away at age 40. He was a legend of the All Blacks and a legend of rugby.”
CENTRES:
- 13. Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
- 12. Jonny Wilkinson (England)
McCaw on Wilkinson: “He’ll go down as one of the greats of world rugby.”
HALFBACKS:
- 10. Dan Carter (New Zealand)
- 9. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)
McCaw on Carter: “There are a lot of good players but the guys who did it for a long time and that I’ve been lucky to play with is Dan Carter. In the final, he was sensational and he’s been great for a long time. So to be able to play with him for the years I’ve been playing was pretty cool.”