England winger Cadan Murley has been studying footage of Erling Haaland to sharpen up his finishing for the World Cup.
Murley was the Premiership’s leading try-scorer last season, scoring 15 tries in 18 games for Harlequins.
The 23-year-old is already the most clinical finisher in English club rugby but he faces stiff competition to break into Steve Borthwick‘s team.
And he has been learning from Manchester City‘s goal machine in a bid to secure his place, after the striker scored 52 goals in 52 games.
‘Every sportsman looks at other sports and wonders how they can improve, and you’ve just got to look at Haaland’s goalscoring record this season, it’s been absolutely incredible,’ said Murley.
Cadan Murley has revealed his a secret tactic that has helped boost his timing on the pitch
The England star has been studying footage of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (middle)
‘As a United fan it’s pretty tough to say. You just have to look at those relationships, you can see, for a lot of those goals he’s been called a tap-in merchant, but you have to be in the right place at the right time.
‘And I just think a lot of that is down to his relationships and his understanding of the players around him.
‘He’s got some of the best assisters around him, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez, but he still has to be in the right place at the right time to know what they are going to do and how to finish, basically.
‘So just watching him play, you can always see, he’s always so alert, he’s always live in the play and looking around for where the opportunity’s going to come.
‘And a lot of wingers these days, that’s where a lot of your tries come. If you can read the game early and know who’s around you.
‘At Quins, we’ve got Andre Esterhuizen, Alex Dombrandt they are the two who are going to look for the offload the most, so if I can flood in around them, I know that’s when the touch is going to come.
‘I know Marcus prefers to kick one way, or when he looks a couple of times that’s when he’s going to do it.
Murley claims that studying it helps him get in ‘the right place at the right time’ on the pitch
The Norwegian striker had a sensational year up front for Manchester City in his debut season
‘The biggest thing is body language. Marcus will look a couple of times before he kicks, he will never just look once. You can pick up on little things like that on the football pitch. I’ve seen interviews with footballers talking about how they read each other ‘So little things like that, having those relationships with the players around you is massive.’ Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter was a guest at England’s training camp last month.
Borthwick will name his final World Cup squad in August and Murley is competing for selection with the likes of Henry Arundell, Joe Cokanasiga, Max Malins and Anthony Watson.
‘Off the pitch we’re all good mates, we get on really well, but as soon as you get on that pitch you want to be as competitive as you can,’ said Murley. ‘Everyone forgets about their friendships on the training field.
‘Steve has got a plan for everyone and he knows how to get the best out of people. He will call you in for little one on ones and go through little things and be so open and honest about where you are. which is so much better being told rather than beating around the bush and not really knowing.
‘He talks about my aerial dominance and that is something he wants because he thinks it is going to be massive in this World Cup as well. My biggest thing has been my high balls. I want to get more dominant in the air, getting balls back, attacking the high ball and being safe under it. I think this World Cup will be massive for contestable kicking.’
