Steve Smith: Phillips can continue long line of Sale’s magic No.9s

By John Newcombe
SALE legend Steve Smith has backed Mike Philips to add his name to the club’s long roster of scrum-half greats.
Sale have been blessed in this position over the years with Smith and then Dewi Morris wearing the No.9 jersey with distinction in the amateur era, before fellow Lions Bryan Redpath,  Dwayne Peel and evergreen Irishman Peter Stringer, carried on the tradition.
Stringer, “a little belter”, according to Smith, is still going strong, aged 38, and is set to be joined at the AJ Bell Stadium by 94-cap Wales international and two-time Lions tourist Phillips, a summer signing from Top 14 winners Racing 92.
“Him and Stringer are total opposites,” said Smith. “Stringer has got great service with both hands and doesn’t break a lot, but  Phillips  is the complete opposite. He doesn’t have a great service, it’s a bit of a hop, skip and a jump as I call it, but he is a massive threat around the rucks and mauls.
“I used to play against a guy called Terry Holmes and  Phillips reminds me a lot of him. Defences can’t take their eye off him.
“I rate the kid (James) Mitchell highly too, I think he is going to be an outstanding player.”
Phillips will be hoping that his venture up north pans out better than the one experienced by countryman Holmes, whose move to Bradford Northern in the mid-80s was blighted by injury.
At 33, Phillips is in the swansong of his career but Smith says that Stringer is living proof of the adage that age doesn’t matter.
“The only thing that gets you in later years is injuries, they tend to happen more often and don’t seem to heal as well, but Strings never seems to get injured. I don’t think  Phillips  has had a lot of injuries either, which is really important.”
In losing Danny Cipriani and gaining Phillips, the charge sheet points to Sale swapping one ‘bad boy’ for another. Like Wasps-bound Cipriani, Phillips’ past has been chequered by some embarrassing late-night scrapes.
“We had the biggest (‘bad-boy’) of the lot in Danny. Everyone said, don’t sign him, he is a load of trouble,” Smith pointed out. “But Steve Diamond saved his career, he sorted him out as a human being as well as a rugby player.
“Cipriani was terrific for us and I think we have been great for him to be honest.
“Anyway, Steve likes it a bit old-school, he doesn’t mind the players going out and letting their hair down as long as they don’t let themselves or the club down. If they do, he is very hard on them. He gives them a bit of rope and handles players extremely well; he is a brilliant man-manager and a master of recruitment.”
Smith, a Grand Slam winner in 1980, was unveiled as part of the Sharks‘ new ten-man board on Thursday. Under the ownership of Simon Orange and Ged Mason, Sale want to become a ‘northern powerhouse’ and regularly challenge for honours.
To do this they need to generate more revenue and keep their best home-grown players on board, such as exciting full-back Mike Haley, below.
“These young kids who leave the club, like Tommy Taylor, Rob Miller and James Gaskell, they walk away from here with 100-odd games under their belt,” added Smith.
“Steve gives these lads game time and game time is crucial at that age. You name me any other club that is doing that to young players.
“Steve develops the young kids and throws them in. I remember when we were playing Munster the year before last, it was Mike Haley’s first game and I said to Steve, you’ve got balls, who’s this kid?
“We had the biggest crowd we ever had and he had a great game and then Steve has stuck with him since; you can’t buy that. When you look at what has happened to Gaskell and Kearnan Myall, you don’t see them playing anymore.”
*This article originally featured in TRP on 17 July 2016.