‘Nothing against Northampton’ – Sale explain their signing of ‘swing player’ Reuben Logan from Saints

Lawrence Nolan
Reuben Logan Sale

New Sale signing Reuben Logan on duty with Scotland U20s

Alex Sanderson has shed light on why he believes the youthful Reuben Logan will turn out to be an excellent Sale Sharks signing.

The Manchester club confirmed on April 8 that they had managed to squirrel the Scotland U20s back-row away from Northampton on a two-year deal that will kick in this summer.

Ahead of this Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership visit to Harlequins, Sanderson has now explained why Sale looked to bring in Logan, the son of ex-Scotland international Kenny and sports TV presenter Gabby, for next season.

‘A big unit who has shift’

Speaking at the Sharks’ weekly media briefing about the recruitment of the promising rookie forward who has made appearances this season for Northampton in the Premiership Cup and for Cambridge in the Championship, the Sale director of rugby said: “He is 120kgs and played on the wing. He is a big unit that can shift.

“He was in the wider 35-man (England) U20s squad, so narrowly missing out on that and maybe through some ancestral belonging through his dad, he wanted to play for Scotland. It [Sale] gives him a better locality to play for Scotland, but I also think a better opportunity.

“Nothing against Northampton, it was his choice to come here, but the kind of player he is fits into our model. Big, strong, dynamic ball-carriers who can all gain line – and he has all the physical requisites to do that. Top lad, knows what he wants himself.

“Very self-driven, and he has got two ex-professional sporting parents. That stands for a lot for me in terms of when you are that young. Obviously, we want to be a support base for him and want to help and guide him and coach him but at that age, I have a lot of communication with our senior academy lads’ parents because they are normally the first port of call.

“Because you have built that relationship, I call them and they will call me directly, sometimes too much. So with that you know he is going to go back home and get good advice in terms of what he needs to do to frame himself or to give every opportunity to make it to the first team.

“Even at this point of time, he’s like ‘I just need some game time; I want to play for a Champ team to show you I can do it’. You know what I mean. It’s not like saying I want to go and play for that first team. He knows he has got some learning to do which is a good sign of maturity for a young lad.”

Having described Logan as a big unit who can shift, Sanderson was quizzed if he viewed Sale’s new signing as just a back-row forward or a hybrid player who could potentially help out on the wing, the position where his dad Kenny starred for Wasps when winning Premiership and European titles.

“Probably back-row,” said Sanderson when asked about the position he envisages for Reuben, adding that he would be a great bench option as a hybrid player. “6-2, 7-1 splits. You know, swing players.

“Again, our game is veering that way. It did at the start of the year so maybe someone who could help us out in those positions if we wanted to go with a bigger bench on occasion.”

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