Jono Ross leads Sale's fight to reach the Premier League final. Credit: Getty Images/Bob Bradford
No other player has put their body on the line the way Jono Ross has done for Sale Sharks for the past six seasons.
Since leaving Stade Francais in 2017 , when teammates told him he was joining the «dummy club», according to Opta, the inspirational captain Sale made 1,543 tackles, more than anyone in the Premier League. He also topped the charts in dominant tackles in four of the last six seasons (one of which was written off due to a concussion), making a total of 120. It's Ross' way of leading when actions always speak louder than words.
«I don't think I've ever been the most talented rugby player, but I think I was willing to pay the price when it comes to my body,» Ross told Telegraph Sport. “I feel that through grips and dominating contacts is my way of showing that I am ready to do what I say in the locker room. Protection wins the respect of many people. I felt it was my strength and I leaned on it to get people to follow me.
“I hope that the club respects me and that I was able to deliver what I promised, so I don't say anything for the sake of saying it. I felt it was important to show results on the field and in the building so that I can hold people accountable for the standards I want to set. I can be quite persistent. If someone is late for a meeting, I will inform them that this is not acceptable. If you say something, you yourself must be responsible for it.
And Sale's players have followed Ross, who will play the last match of his career on Saturday in the Premier League final against the Saracens. Perhaps it's symbolic that this season, Ben Curry overtook Ross at the top of the dominating tackle table, with eight Sharks among the top 15 players. As English flanker Tom Curry makes clear, it was Ross who set the standard for him to follow throughout his career.
2405 Jono Ross Tackles
“Jono has transformed at this club,” Curry said. “We had different owners and different coaches at times, so it was extremely important for him to be able to lead in that way, playing every minute and topping the charts in dominant tackles. If that's not leadership, then I don't know what is.
“For Ben and me, he was great. He was very hard on us many times, especially when we were younger, but we couldn't be more grateful now. The way we train him is always up to you, but now we are fighting for dominating tackles. He is one of those people that you are very grateful for having in your life at some point.”
However, this came at a cost. Ross says he has «nitpicks all over» but especially in his toe, which he sprained last year but remains a constant source of pain. After a while, he decided to forego his pain injections in favor of a «grin and be patient» approach, but this was an important reason for his decision to retire. «I'm trying my best to perform at the level that I expect of myself,» Ross said. “I can't run the same way. There is no flexibility. It really hurts. My body is probably the worst it's ever been. Getting out of bed in the morning is the right effort.”
Summoning the last effort will not be a problem. Ross is making it clear to his team that they're not going to Twickenham for the final just to have a fun day like sunburnt tourists. Winning titles has always been part of the idea that Steve Diamond gave him when he decided to trade the bright lights of Paris for the not-so-healthy Salford.
However, it was Diamond's successor, Alex Sanderson, who, with a few tweaks, took Sale to the first final in 17 years. «When I met Simon (Orange) and Dimes, that's what they wanted,» Ross said. «Dimes took the club to a certain level, and Al took us to another level.
“Al is a bit more detailed than Dimes, who relies a lot on emotion. Al does that too, but he's a little more technical and relies more on the mental side of the game. I think the workouts have become more specific and more intense. We have become more specific in terms of technical moments in forwards and in our footwork. He gave everyone a voice in the club and you saw young guys like Tom Roebuck, Joe Carpenter, Bevan Rodd, Gus Warr, Raffy Quirk. They handled it with such confidence and really performed. Perhaps Dimes didn't want to give these guys a chance.»
Diamond once said that Ross's greatest ability was to «piss people off» (the highest form of praise in Diamond's book), but Ross problems flipped the switch between a polite family man and an unbalanced animal, which on Saturday will be released on the Saracens.
“My dad always told me that he goes on the field, stays on the field. I think the sport has lost that a bit. It seems that people take to heart what is happening on the field. You no longer have the opportunity to drink beer with the opposition, and that's a shame. We all want to win and you will do and say not very nice things, but I hope that anyone who has played against me knows that I am competitive.”
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