By The Saracens
January 28 2021

When Alex Sanderson joined Saracens in 2004, few could have imagined the impact he would have on the team. He was born in Chester and played most of his career at Sale Sharks before coming south in 2004. Primarily a blindside flanker, he joined the likes of David Seymour, Steffon Armitage and HRHRH in the back row. Sadly he only played for the club for 1 season before a back injury (7 prolapsed discs) forced his premature retirement from the game at the age of 26. Eddie Jones, then working at Sarries as a Consultant, clearly noticed that Alex had potential as a coach and persuaded Nigel Wray to offer him the opportunity to join the backroom staff. Alex spent a year in Australia working under Eddie at Queensland Reds. Alex described his time down under as a “Baptism of Fire”. It was a year that culminated in a 92-3 defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria. “But thankfully I stayed afloat, didn’t drown amid the pressure. It was a brutally tough year, pretty dark. You wonder if this coaching lark is for you. I still wonder that a few times a season when it gets really tough, but you have to steel yourself.”

Although he learned a lot from Eddie, clearly everything was not sweetness and light! “He’s uncompromising. And I’m strong-willed and emotional. He properly pushes you, some people to breaking point. He hasn’t broken me but I’ve been close to it. I like working hard but I’m not a workaholic. I like rugby but it’s not my life. I think Eddie would say himself that he is a workaholic. He’d want the best out of you but his standards are incredibly high. At the time, I probably wasn’t able to meet them, which is why we didn’t see eye to eye.”

Alex also worked with England under 18’s before joining Sarries’ full time as Forwards coach in the 2008/9 season, once again working alongside Eddie. Then came the infamous “Night of the Long Knives” . Eddie had already gone to make way for Brendan Venter, Alex made the decision to remain and the rest, as they say, is history! He learned a lot from Venter and his successor, the current Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall. They made an excellent double act, McCall more reserved and generally shunning the limelight, Alex confident and more than happy to speak to the camera.

Over the following 12 years, Alex embodied everything that Saracens became. He turned out to be a natural – both as a coach and as a go-to interviewee. I will really miss his candid thoughts from the touchline on BT Sport. Winning or losing he always had something honest/interesting/amusing/inciteful to say which is probably why the broadcasters loved him so much. In fact according to Andy Goode, it’s hard to find anyone in the sport who has a bad word to say about Alex. “he has got empathy, thinks outside the box, a brilliant motivator, the impact just as an out-and-out forwards coach, I haven’t ever heard anyone have a bad word to say about Alex Sanderson, the detail that he brings as well.” His co-host on the Rugby Pod and former Sarries’ lock Jim Hamilton said: “Hands down, he is one of the most engaging coaches I have ever worked with and for. So, so positive when refocusing the team.”

With the departure of Paul Gustard, Alex added the role of Defence Coach to his portfolio and is credited with the creation of the “Wolfpack” mentality. Saracens formidable defence, the bedrock on which the multi-trophy-winning side was built, was largely down to him. But his real value was communication. He was always seeking new ways of engaging with the squad and was not afraid to bring sumo, cheerleading, lasers and snakes into his presentations. But all this took its toll on Alex. He suffered from insomnia in his pursuit of perfection. His underlying theme was always improvement. Not winning, not trophies, but getting better and better. He admits that this did lead to him fixating on small errors rather than enjoying success. He says this came to a head when Sarries lost to Exeter 31-13 just before Christmas 2017. Everyone noticed that the enjoyment had gone. The whole team reappraised their motivations and targets. “We were not the organisation we wanted to be. So we shifted our mindset to focus on what went well. If a couple of things went poorly we were happy that good was good enough. Forget about perfection.” It worked!

For all his intensity though, Alex Sanderson is an infectious affirmer of life, happier over a steak and a pint with his wife at their local than he is trawling through hours of footage. “I just want to enjoy life. You hear these horror stories about people having to get up and drag themselves to work in the City with a sense of dread. As a player I had that sometimes with some coaches. It’s not a nice environment. We want to come into an environment here where we look forward to it. To be honest, in terms of the rugby, watching six games a week, I could probably take it or leave it. But the fellas, if I can get them up, happy, motivated and wanting to come into work, like I want to come into work – that’s where I get my buzz from.”

The bad publicity around the Salary Cap investigation wasn’t easy for Alex. This was where the whole team pulled together, led by Mark McCall. He said “Mark has been brilliant at shielding all the coaches and players from what’s been happening, so it is just all about the rugby. That’s what it should be about. we also pride ourselves on how tight we are as a group. Even if we are not doing it for the badge, we are certainly doing it for each other. That’s why we go on away trips. That’s why everyone stayed when they could all get much more money somewhere else, despite all this salary cap nonsense. They stay because they care, value and love each other.”

His success at Sarries inevitably led to interest from other parties and it is evident from his words that Alex was loathe to leave London. Probably the only place that could tempt him was Sale Sharks, his alma mater. He said “The opportunity to come back home and achieve something special was just too good to turn down.” Even so it wasn’t an easy decision as Alex described in an open letter to the Club and supporters. “It is with a heavy heart and after a month of introspection and consideration, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and farewell to my Saracens’ family members. To say ‘I love the organisation, the supporters and my friends within it that make it so special’ would be an understatement. Saracens has been my life, and in many ways has shaped my life so indelibly that wherever I go from now on, a part of me will be forever a Saracen”.

Of course he will be missed. Mark McCall paid a warm tribute to Sanderson, "Alex is one of the leading coaches of his generation, blending comprehensive technical and tactical knowledge with an in-depth understanding of the people in his care," he said. "His creativity, ability to articulate a message and ferocious desire to improve players sets the standard of what it is to be a modern-day coach."

Meanwhile we all wish him happiness and success at Sale. But it will feel very strange when BT interview him during a match and he is talking about a whole different team. Many people think Alex will return. When the time comes for Mark McCall to move on, Alex Sanderson is the perfect fit to fill his big big shoes.