Bevan Rodd Exclusive: 'I let the team down against Leicester last time - As a group we now want more'
Bevan Rodd ands Sale will be looking to right some wrongs in the Premiership play-offs
©Sale Sharks
Last weekend, there was a strong sense of ‘job done’ for Sale Sharks.
Those who watched their 30-26 victory over Exeter Chiefs will know it wasn’t a five-star display from Alex Sanderson’s side, but all that mattered was confirming their place in the Premiership play-offs for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
It is hard not to be impressed by Sale’s latest surge into the top four. Twelve months ago, they reached the play-offs after winning five of their final seven matches. This year, they went one better after accumulating six victories from their last seven games of the regular season.
“We were in a similar position last year, weren’t we?” highlights loosehead prop Bevan Rodd.
“For some reason, our first half of the season hasn’t gone well for the last two years! I don’t know why, but what I will say is it is a nice feeling to be sitting here [at Sale’s Carrington training base] knowing that there are essentially only four teams in club rugby in England right now and we are one of them.
“It’s exciting. We have made the semi-finals a few times now, but we don't take it for granted.”
As Rodd alludes to, recovering from an indifferent start to a season isn’t always the ideal formula for success, but for now, Sale have an away semi-final to look forward to against Leicester Tigers.
Despite being just 24 years old, Rodd, who made his 100th appearance for the Sharks back in March, knows what it is like at the sharp end of a campaign, having featured in all three of Sale’s most recent play-off ties.
“We have got a bit of experience in that area,” Rodd continues. “We have got lads who have played in big games like Tom [Curry], Dickie [Luke Cowan-Dickie], Fordy [George Ford], Ben [Curry], Jonny Hill so they will be really big to lean on this week and hopefully next week.”
From the outside looking in, it feels as though this current Sharks squad has matured under the stewardship of Sanderson. Since he succeeded Steve Diamond in January 2021, no other team has made the play-offs more frequently than Sale.
And their conductor in chief on this occasion has been fly-half George Ford.
Rightly named in the Gallagher Premiership Team of the Season this week, the snub Ford received from the British and Irish Lions may have inadvertently sparked a fire within the 32-year-old, which has only benefited Sale.
The sublime form of the Sharks No.10 has left opposition bewildered at times, and Ford was front and centre of everything good about Sale when they came up against their semi-final opponents just four weeks ago.
Their overall fluidity and precision in attack was orchestrated by the England international as Sale entered half-time with a 26-16 lead at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
However, it proved to be the proverbial game of two halves as Leicester rallied to a 44-34 victory in what turned out to be a key moment in the race for a home play-off.
The disappointment of that evening still lingers for Rodd, who surprisingly holds himself accountable for Sale's shortcomings in the East Midlands.
“I feel like I let the team down against Tigers because I lost my battle,” Rodd admits. “I know everyone says about not getting too high on the highs, and not getting too low on the lows. You always remember your bad games.
“I think the pen scrum count was two to one in their favour, so we've learned a few lessons from that, and it's just now a case of showing it on Saturday.”
And do those difficult moments stick with Rodd?
“I think it sticks with everyone,” he continues, subconsciously putting in his gumshield as we chat. “No idea why I put my gumshield in then. Shows I’m ready!
“But no, I think our breakdown was off massively, but there was a moment which I think stuck with a few boys. In the second half, we had a scrum, a scrum pen, maul, maul pen, maul, they kicked it, we tried to kick it, it was charged down five metres out.
“We overthrew the lineout, they intercepted it and they scored. It's just a case of realising when you’ve made a couple of errors, sure it up and put pressure back on them. If you have four errors in a row, you’re pretty much just handing them the ball and giving them an open net.
“I guess you’ve got to almost relive it to learn from it. They physically dominated us at some points and it's quite hard to admit that. We have to face that and hopefully it will come out on Saturday.”
At the time of our interview, Rodd declares he hadn’t watched the Leicester game back, and the details he reeled off ‘were still in the memory’.
And that level of astuteness can perhaps be attributed to Rodd’s consistent performances this term.
While his mobility, support lines and all-round contributions continue to make him such a valuable asset to Sale, a glowing reference from TNT Sports’ David Flatman suggested Rodd’s improvements in the scrum have elevated his game.
On last weekend’s commentary, Flatman said: “The last couple of seasons, you thought Bevan Rodd is a mega contributor around the field, but is his scrummaging at an elite level?
“I would say now, this guy is pushing Fin Baxter very, very hard to be the second choice behind Ellis Genge who is still the governor [for England]. We mustn’t sleep on Bevan Rodd. I think he is in brilliant form.”
As expected, Rodd, who is evidently his harshest critic, downplays the plaudits while acknowledging his work-ons.
“Yeah, I would say I feel good,” Rodd adds. “I think you just mature with your body a bit more. You understand how your body works, and you know what you need to do to make sure you're at peak performance for a Saturday.
“Obviously, I don’t know everything but it is also about picking up things from experienced players, seeing what they do, can you add to that? If you like it, you add it to your programme but if you don’t, you take it away.
“I think Sale have helped but also England have helped a lot, challenging me. Working with Tom Harrison [England scrum coach] quite a bit, working with Westy [Dorian West], Briggsy [Neil Briggs] at Sale, and then I think my breakdown work has improved as well, and that's credit to Al [Sanderson]. He takes our breakdown. A lot of technical stuff, but also just that late level change when clearing someone out because that gives us that quick ball.
“That enables Raff [Quirke], Fordy, Gus [Warr], Rob du Preez to sort of choose what we want to do. When you can choose what you want to do in attack, I feel like that opens so many more avenues where you can attack from, whether it is 40 metres out or pin to the corners and create set-piece chaos.”
The similar playing models of Sale and Leicester could lend itself to ‘the set-piece chaos’ which Rodd touches on, with both forward units set to do some damage on Saturday, whilst Messrs Ford and Handrè Pollard will look to take ownership in the backline.
Reaching another final ‘would mean everything’ to Rodd and Sale as they look to return to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham two years on from their defeat to Saracens and despite the humble nature of the prop, deep down, it won’t be Rodd’s only objective over the next few weeks.
After bursting onto the scene with England back in 2021, Rodd is part of Steve Borthwick’s plans for this summer.
With the tour to Argentina and the USA to come, Rodd could have been forgiven for wondering when his next opportunity would arise having missed out on selection in the autumn before being limited to England’s training squad for the Six Nations.
“Obviously, it hasn’t gone my way personally,” Rodd says. “I wanted to go in the Six Nations, but as a group in the Six Nations, I feel like we proved a lot of people wrong finishing second.
“Obviously summer tour, Gengey [Ellis Genge], like that's a huge for him being with the Lions, like, really happy for him, but it hopefully gives me a chance to be on the bench or starting, whatever the plan is.”
Last summer, Rodd experienced arguably the most frustrating period in his brief England career.
With first-choice loosehead Genge on the treatment table, Rodd started against Japan. He was replaced after 43 minutes before Fin Baxter went on to claim the No.1 jersey against New Zealand from the injured Joe Marler.
Rodd came off the bench for the final 11 minutes of England’s second Test against the All Blacks at Eden Park but since then, he hasn’t pulled on the red rose.
“Right now, my thing is I want to win the league with Sale and that is not going to be against Fin Baxter or Ellis Genge,” Rodd remarks. “That's against Leicester Tigers and then Bath or Bristol. That's my focus now.
“When I get to camp, obviously train hard, hopefully get to play, but at the minute, it's just try and win the Prem with Sale.”
Rodd’s presence in the upcoming England squad feels like an excellent opportunity for him. Not only can it strengthen his claim to be the next cab off the rank when Genge isn’t available, but it could also bolster his bid to become the starting loosehead further down the line.
While the 24-year-old, again, shows restraint when asked about what the future holds for him from an international standpoint, it is clear his focus on recovery away from the field - combined with his desire to improve on it - are towards the top of his agenda.
At the beginning of the season, Sanderson insinuated that Rodd had altered his mindset away from the pitch in order to raise his game. The ‘social animal’ was looking after his body more by sleeping daily in a hyperbaric chamber (a tent that increases oxygen levels) whilst also cutting down on his nights out.
“Right, he [Sanderson] made it seem like I was some f****** party animal!” Rodd laughs.
“Basically, what happened was, we had an end-of-season social and I didn’t go out because I had England camp on the Monday after the Prem semis last season. Because I didn’t go out, he thought I was this ‘ultra-professional’. I do go out! If there is a team thing on, I will obviously go out but I’ve never been out Friday night, Saturday night on repeat! I have never done that. Just wanted to set the record straight there!
“I feel like you do have to [make a conscious effort to look after yourself] now, especially at this time of year. Games are coming thick and fast so to get yourself ready and starting every week, you’ve got to go through the procedure of what you need to do and what you don't need to do. The recovery chamber just works for me.”
Both personally and collectively, Rodd and Sale are now determined to “have another Monday together” as they target their spot in the Premiership final.
While Sale can boast a solid recent record in terms of reaching the play-offs, the sun hasn’t always shone for them.
Over the previous four seasons, only once have they progressed to a final - beating Leicester 21-13 at the Salford Community Stadium in 2023 - and when you widen the lens, only one away team has made it to the big dance at Twickenham in the last nine years; Harlequins in 2020/21.
Sale will return to Leicester having won eight of their last 10 Premiership matches against the Tigers, but statistics mean little to Sanderson and his troops. They crave more, and that feeling is palpable.
“Obviously, we want more from it,” Rodd says. “Be nervous about it, but be nervous because you care and take pride in what you do week to week, but also enjoy it.
“How many times do you get to play at Welford Road in a semi-final? Enjoy it, but also realise we are there to do a job as well.”
