Sale Sharks in Sevens heaven as Magnus Lund climbs on board
Lund, at 6ft 3in and 100kg (15st 7lb), has the physical edge on Seymour and fellow back-rower and club captain Dan Braid without being any less effective at the breakdown.
And, as his past-life as an England Sevens international would suggest, the 31-year-old offers plenty around the park in a ball-playing capacity, too.
“He adds another dimension which you always need,” said Seymour, who was a team-mate of Lund’s when England won a silver medal at Sevens in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. “It’s great to have him here and it adds to the strength in depth.
“He’s a true No.7 and his ball-handling skills are second to none. When he was here the first time, and I was at Saracens, he was always one of the main names we looked at even though the club had all those big stars there.
“You’ve got to keep an eye on him at every breakdown. You go in trying to keep hold of the ball and he will be there trying to take it.”
Manchester-born Lund arrives back in his native North-west after six seasons in France with Biarritz.
During his first spell with the Sharks he was capped ten times by England and picked up a Premiership winner’s medal in 2006.
His versatility in being able to cover all three back-row positions compensates for the loss of James Gaskell to Wasps as well as giving Steve Diamond the option to relieve some of the workload on Seymour and Braid.
Seymour was an ever-present last year and remarkably has only missed two league games in the last three seasons, while the strain of playing week-in, week-out eventually told on Braid’s body with the inspirational Kiwi undergoing knee surgery near the end of season.
Boss Steve Diamond said: “We probably didn’t rotate as well as we could have through the competitions, so we have to bear that in mind.
“He’s an ideal replacement for James Gaskell. He’s English-qualified, has a lot of experience and can play across the back-row.”
Lund joins senior internationals, Italians Luke McLean and Alberto Di Marchi plus Scots duo Nathan Hines and Chris Cusiter in signing on at the AJ Bell Stadium. However, Russian lock Kirill Kulemin has left to join Perpignan.
Diamond also revealed he is looking for a hooker to cover Tommy Taylor.
“Tommy’s having a full rebuild of the knee he injured playing against the Baa-baas and he won’t be available until Christmas so we’re probably going to bring a hooker in for six months or a season.”
JON NEWCOMBE
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on July 27.
