Big knock rules Raffi Quirke out again in latest injury set back
Raffi Quirke, the England international scrum half, faces a possible six week recovery period after breaking his jaw in the latest significant injury of his young career.
Quirke, 22, broke into the England squad under Eddie Jones, the former head coach, and made his debut as a replacement for Ben Youngs against Australia in 2021 becoming the youngest scrum half since Nick Duncombe to wear the England No9 jersey.
He came off the bench again in the match with South Africa, showing his pace with the winning try in a 27-26 victory at Twickenham.
However, injury set backs ruined his hopes of pushing for a place in the England squad for the Rugby World Cup in France and he now faces another battle to get back to the form that took him into the international squad.
Quirke was injured in the 20-15 win over Northampton on October 15 and Alex Sanderson, the Sale director of rugby, said: “Raffi has elastic bands on the back of his jaw and it is a fracture but a non displaced fracture. It is a four to six week period out and he is in a good place despite his concurrent injuries and this was another one out of his control. We will start to build him up again.”
Quirke was sidelined for six months after requiring an operation on a hamstring he pulled off the bone, making it back onto the pitch in October 2022. He then suffered a wrist injury which forced him to sit out yet more rugby.
Sanderson would not name the three World Cup players who have returned to training but that is likely to have included England’s Tom Curry and Argentina’s Agustin Creevy.
Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie is “close” to playing after having a further check up on his neck injury while Ben Curry has been fully training this week.
Sale, who were beaten 43-0 by Exeter last weekend, take on Gloucester at the AJ Bell Stadium on Friday night, will be without wing Tom O’Flaherty who has a groin injury.
“I had to take ownership about what I could have done differently," added Sanderson. "I got the reflections from the players and then you start to get it right.
“I don’t choose to use shame and embarrassment as tools. The hairdryer treatment is not sustainable after a poor performance and training this week has been energised."
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> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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