It is not yet Christmas and already this is a Premiership season like no other. Even Alan Solomons, Worcester’s much-travelled and vastly experienced director of rugby, cannot recall anything like it. Nine clubs, ranging from fourth-placed Wasps to bottom-placed Newcastle, being separated by a mere nine points is not conducive to a relaxing festive period.
Hence the tension surrounding Friday’s game between the Warriors and 10th-placed Northampton and Saturday’s Leicester v Harlequins fixture, to name but two. Solomons, now 68, is not quite the oldest coach the Premiership has seen – the 71-year-old Alan Gaffney had a temporary stint in charge of Northampton last season – but he has been around long enough to know the coming months will be relentless for all involved.
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So what, ultimately, will settle this relegation game? Since 2011-12 the side conceding most tries has always finished bottom – to date Leicester (39 in nine games) and Bristol (36) have been the most porous. For Solomons, though, there is one other golden rule. “Staying up is all about consistency of performance. If you don’t perform consistently, you’re going to land up with a problem. New Zealanders in the old days had a saying: ‘For 80% of the time you need to be at 90% of your game. For 10% of the time you want to be at 100%. For the other 10% you’re going to dip below that.’ We’re talking about human beings … you’re never going to be at full-pitch all the time.”
Solomons should know. During the South African’s brief spell at Northampton over a decade ago the Saints lost eight games in a row. He was relieved of his duties and had to look on from afar as the team narrowly survived in 11th place, with Harlequins going down. Two seasons later, in 2006‑07, Northampton finally dropped into the Championship. The moral of the story? Teamwork, a united dressing room and mental resilience matter as much as talent. “It’s the environment you create that is absolutely vital,” says Solomons, previously in charge of Ulster, Edinburgh and the Stormers and an assistant coach to Nick Mallett when the Springboks went 17 Tests unbeaten in the late 1990s.
“My philosophy is to create an environment in which each individual – and the collective – can realise their potential and be motivated to come to work every day and prepare as best as possible. You’ve also got to have resilience. Life’s about getting up every single time you’re knocked down. Players have got to learn those life lessons. I’ve been around a bit and have seen a few things and it’s part of my job to help them.”
Confidence is the other critical element. Worcester have been in these situations before and instinctively know how to respond. Clubs such as Leicester, on their worst run since 1975, are entering uncharted waters. “Geordan Murphy and Mark Bakewell are good blokes and they’ve got good players,” says Solomons. “They’re just having a loss of confidence and I’m confident they will recover. But this is a different-level Premiership this year, as all the other directors of rugby keep telling me. All the teams have got quality players; they’re well-coached and well-prepared. Your preparation is critical. If you are 10-15% off at this level, you’ve got a problem. I’ve not seen us have an easy game yet.”
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For Worcester, with a burgeoning academy, this presents a familiar dilemma. How can hugely promising youngsters such as Ted Hill, capped by England last month, or the forceful teenage centre Ollie Lawrence, be allowed time to develop when the next 80 minutes might dictate their club’s entire future? Solomons believes sealing off the top tier would help all concerned. “If it is ring-fenced, you’re really able to invest in building your club. To some extent that’s to the benefit of English rugby. I think it’s a healthy thing if guys stay in their environment.”
Above and beyond the politics of the game the fresh investment deal secured by Premiership Rugby this week and the Warriors’ publicity-shy new owners, the influence of Worcestershire’s answer to Professor Dumbledore will also be crucial. Once a lawyer specialising in litigation, Solomons is not one of sport’s laissez-faire gurus. In the past he has even insisted on teams training on Christmas Day – “That was a bit over the top” – and once refused to allow a club player in South Africa to skip a match to attend his brother’s wedding. His argument was that the ceremony should not have been arranged – “That’s why God invented summer” – for the rugby season.
He freely admits there is a widening generation gap between himself and his squad – “My taste in music and theirs is radically different”, he says. But he reckons that certain things never change. “Core values are important to me. Integrity is number one, being altruistic, being a good pro: I find those appeal to whatever generation I’ve coached. I don’t think age is a limiting factor. You just have to be passionate about what you do. If you want to do it for the glamour you are doing it for completely the wrong reason.” When the going gets tough, as it is about to do, nobody will be less fazed than the rugby-mad Solomons.