Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson has backed hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie to play a prominent part in England’s autumn, and stay in the Premiership as a result.
Cowan-Dickie is one of the top-end earners coming out of contract at the end of the season, but Sanderson is hopeful that the prospect of playing for England will be enough to make him want to stay in Salford.
He put in a two-try star performance in Friday night’s win against Gloucester and Sanderson said: “How good was he? I’m so happy for him.
“With him getting back into that England team that was a bit of a statement for him that he means business this season. It feels like he’s got a new lease of life.”
Cowan-Dickie was all set to move to Montpellier in 2023 but the deal collapsed at the 11th hour. Sale offered him a lifeline in the north west, joining the club in July last year.
Staying Put
Sanderson added: “He was close to moving to France but he is very much in the England frame so I would imagine he’d be motivated to stay through to the 2027 World Cup. I’m talking to players like Luke on the front foot, hoping to include them all in the squad going forward.
“He is getting better and better. He is getting that sweet spot in defence, getting some carries in attack, the scrum has been dominant and his lineout ball has been fantastic.
“All the fundamentals of his game are there and I think you are going to see more of him physically around the park because he is happy and settled with those basics that he has to get right.
“He is fully in the England picture and is playing well. With the conversations I have had, I fully expect him to get into that England team.
“He is in a good spot and I am grateful that we have worked through last season, come forward with us this season and hopefully for seasons to come. That is the plan.”
In the Training Squad
Cowan-Dickie won the last of his 41 caps against South Africa in November 2022, but has been included in Steve Borthwick’s latest 36-player, three-day training squad ahead of the Autumn Nations Series.
England captain Jamie George and his Saracens teammate, Theo Dan, are the two other hookers in the squad.
Meanwhile, Sanderson will not be seeking to reinforce his loosehead options despite injuries to Bevan Rodd and Ross Harrison, and will rely on Si McIntyre and Tumy Onasanya to get them through this rough patch.
He said: “We could go out there and spend more money through injury dispensation. But you have only got a finite amount of money in that pot and if you spend it all early and you then get an injury back-end of the season, you can’t pull anyone in. So at the moment we are just keeping our powder dry.”
