By Kona Ozdemir and Luke Ighere
Strong summer recruitment internationally has brought a host of top talent to the MMU Rugby men’s first team as they embark on a season where the ultimate goal is promotion to the top flight of university sport.
Competition for a shirt in the starting XV is now more intense than ever, and the influx of players from around the globe gives team boss Rob Jones a pleasant headache – how to use the increased tactical flexibility and greater options the new faces will bring in a squad already stacked with players on professional and semi-professional contracts.
Last season’s intake of five men from the Zimbabwe national under-20 squad added pace and power in the midfield and on the flanks, and the addition of players from New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Northern Ireland brings an international flavour to an already powerful line-up, which finished second in the Premiership North 2 university league.
“We have a good strong squad, lots of depth, lots of characters and competitiveness in every area,” said coach Jones, also the England University 7s boss.
“No-one can rest on their laurels, and we’re really strong despite 11 injuries. In terms of the new players we learn from everybody and we encourage their input. We’ll stay true to our coaching philosophy and if we think we can use some of their strengths, we’ll tweak things.
“Now is a settling-in period because the rugby here is more technical than in other places, but they have added to what we can do. They are all top lads with great personality, and it’s a bonus for the players already in the squad – they can learn from them.”
Jones cast his eye over his new squad at their home base at Platt Lane in Rusholme in a friendly last week against Premiership South 2 opponents the University of Surrey, which ended in a crushing 90-26 victory for MMU. With their opening fixture away this week (Oct 2) at St Andrews in Scotland, Jones will spend the time until the referee’s whistle blows slotting together the pieces in his matchday squad.
“We’re still deciding where our superpowers are, but we’ve got loads of flair and some real grit and dog about us: lots of muscle, and lots of pace,” he says.
“Our attack coach Graham Higginbotham, scrum coach James Harper and defence coach Fergus Mulchrone are setting us up to be relentless, brutal and urgent. That’s the way we all want to play.”
The pitch at St Andrews is one of the best in the country, the playing surface is firm and fast, and MMU are yet to lose there. Can Rob Jones and his team come away with victory again?
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