Waisea Nayacalevu filling Manu Tuilagi-shaped hole at Sale Sharks – Alex Sanderson

By Ben Jaycock

There’s only one Manu Tuilagi but Alex Sanderson is hoping Waisea Nayacelavu can partly fill a void left by the former England international.

Sale’s star signing from Toulon of the versatile centre/wing and Fijian captain, who has 40 international caps, scoring 19 tries, was a statement of intent from last season’s third-place side.

Wrecking ball centre Tuilagi has moved on to join Top 14’s Bayonne and Sanderson admits there’s no such thing as a direct replacement. 

Sanderson said: “Waisea (Nayacelavu) has given us a bit of a different dynamic in our attack. We used Manu (Tuilagi) really well and there’s no one like him on the gain line.

“Waisea has the ability to outside break, not that Manu hasn’t but that’s his speciality alongside his offloading skills and getting his hands free.

Different Dynamic

“They are very similar in terms of their energy levels and are good leaders. It’s going to take a while to fill the void of Manu but he’s certainly gone far in doing that which is what we hoped for in terms of not just the player but the person as well.

“It’s never a handshake, it’s a cuddle, he’s fitted in brilliantly with his lively personality.”

Sale have bolstered their pack with the signing of 6ft 8inch South African second row Le Roux Roets from the Durban-based Sharks but Sanderson says it’s trickier to get a bruising forward to adapt to an attacking style of play than it is a flying back.

He added: “Le Roux is big enough to fill any void. He’s on good form and finally found somewhere to live in Knutsford after previously staying in Air BnB’s.

“He’s been struggling with a few little niggles whilst he’s been getting back to fitness. From my experience with the bigger lads, you have to shift their physiology to a new game plan and style which takes longer to adjust than it would an outside back, who can use gas as their weapon.

“Le Roux has got a bit of work to do to meet the demands of what our game requires in the Premiership.”

The Manchester side have also re-signed former captain Will Addison six years on from his departure to Ulster, with the 31-year-old who can play centre, wing or full back joining on a one-year deal.

Coaching Future

Sanderson feels Addison is made for coaching and enjoys the guidance given by the four-time Ireland international. 

“Addy (Will Addison) is a smarter man than me,” said Sanderson.

“He’s like a dolphin that comes out the sea, onto the land then back into the sea because he’s had his injuries.

“Because of that he’s got a wider perspective of the game. He’s a top class player and thinks like a coach with forward thinking around skill development, so I’ll be spending more time with him throughout the season.”

Sale endured a rocky midseason last term plagued with injuries to key players like Tom Curry but Sanderson says they are better off for the game time younger players received during that period as it means his squad’s strength in depth has now improved. 

He said: “It’s better because the guys we threw in at the deep end over Christmas have more experience like Ben Bamber, Alex Wills and Nye Thomas.

“These guys are a year on but as a high performance department it’s about managing their load and game time, so we don’t have as many injuries as we had.

“The season is structured better, we don’t have to go 20 games back-to-back anymore which makes it easier to manage. I think we’ve got a good programme here around performance but we want to step it up.” 

READ MORE: Speedy Ben Stevenson leaves it late to win it for Newcastle Falcons