24 hours after the announcement that his co-winner of Sale's 2015-16 Young Player of the Season award, Cameron Neild, had penned a new four-year-deal, Sam James did likewise, joining the flanker in committing his future to Sale Sharks until 2020. Like Neild, James, 22, enjoyed a breakout season last year notching seven tries and six try assists in 24 appearances including a couple of magical individual efforts that brought the entire league to attention. His fine season continued into the summer when he was deservedly rewarded with a place on the England Saxons tour to South Africa. What makes James such a special player? Well... As evident above, James is a bona fide playmaker and instantly became an integral part of the Sale backline last season serving as a second creative option outside of Danny Cipriani. James is a five tool player; great hands, on-field awareness, the ability to kick tactically, a nice turn of pace, and at 6ft 5' is an imposing physical presence to contain in the outside centre channel. The try embedded below is a perfect example of the dual threat James offers against a scrambling cover defence. It will come as no surprise then that the news of James' re-signing has been lauded universally (as with the other pre-season extensions) but one thing to note is that James had actually already signed a (two-year) contract extension earlier this season. The unprecedented turnaround between extensions therefore suggests that James - as with Beaumont, Haley, Neild et al. - has been earmarked as an integral foundation of the club for the immediate future and with additional financial security now assured, Diamond has moved quickly to double the length of James' commitment to the club. The club's aggressive pursuit of an extension with James, and the player's ardor in agreeing to commit an additional two seasons might be the clearest indicator yet that Sale have something very special brewing in Manchester. With Danny Cipriani now plying his trade in Coventry, the impending season should see further importance placed on James' playmaking abilities, especially since a move to inside centre is a possibility should Will Addison slide across to 13. Another strong season, regardless of position, could very well see James earn a spot with the England Elite Squad, such is his potential. Follow The Shark Tank on Twitter for more news, analysis, and opinions on all things Sale Sharks.
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Cameron Neild has become the fifth player this offseason to commit his long-term future to Sale Sharks, the club announced Tuesday morning. Neild, 21, joined Sale in 2013 immediately after graduating from Manchester Grammar School and burst into the first-team last season, compiling 23 appearances and offering valuable relief with Dan Braid ruled out for the entirety of the season's second half. He follows Josh Beaumont, Mike Haley, Bryn Evans and TJ Ioane in penning a new long-term deal with the Sharks. And whilst Sam James (not undeservedly) garnered most of the national headlines for his own breakthrough campaign last year, Neild quickly became as influential a figure in the Sale first-team; his industrious performances alongside TJ Ioane in the Sale backrow being rewarded with a joint Young Player of the Season honour. Neild has clarified, including in an recent interview with the BBC's Nathan Middleton which I urge all to listen to, his long-term ambition of remaining as a hooker despite his recent utilisation at blindside flanker. Yet with new signing Rob Webber and Neil Briggs offering ample cover at the position for the coming season, the expectation is for Neild to once again see the majority of his playing-time at flanker. The somewhat unprecedented length of Neild's new deal (four years!) however clearly suggests that the Sale brass likewise share Neild's vision of his positional future. Rob Webber is 30 and will be 32 when his contract with Sale expires. Likewise Neil Briggs will turn 32 at the end of the current season. By committing himself to remain as a Sale player until 2020 at least, one can infer that Steve Diamond has outlined his vision for Neild to gradually assume the starting hooker shirt, which, depending on how Rob Webber fares in his first season in Manchester, could be as early as next season. Regardless of where Neild ultimately plays, this is a fantastic signing for Sale on two fronts. First, Neild's versatility, his ferocity at both the tackle and the breakdown, and his ability to spin out of contact makes him an ideal fit in Sale's hard-nosed-but-mobile pack whether he starts at hooker or flanker. Second, Sale have once again flexed their new-found financial muscle and ambitious outline for the future in signing Neild up to such a lengthy deal; having one of their star performers from last season - and a player with genuine international aspirations to boot - instantly commit his long-term future to the Sharks speaks enormously of where Sale are as a club and what they are now able to offer their plethora of budding stars. Follow The Shark Tank on Twitter for more news, analysis, and opinions on all things Sale Sharks. Sale marked the official start of their 2016-17 campaign with a nervy 81-0 victory over National League One side Fylde at Heywood Road on Saturday afternoon. With two completely different Sale XVs playing a half apiece, the Sharks ran in thirteen tries (Harrison, Scott, Ingall, Leota, Briggs x2, McGuigan x2, Phillips, Webber, MacGinty, Addison, Edwards ) in a comfortable blowout victory to kickstart preparations for the curtain opener against Newcastle Falcons in three weeks. Sale next play Edinburgh on Friday night, again at Heywood Road. ThoughtsIn truth, with such a lopsided game and result, it is hard to get an accurate sense of the level of player performances. However, forever one to struggle on, here are a couple of observations I made in attendance at Heywood Road.
Follow The Shark Tank on Twitter for more news, analysis, and opinions on all things Sale Sharks. ED. This is the final edition of Matt Ferguson's excellent five-part series detailing the members of last season's Sale Jets side. This week I’ll be taking a look at the final cohort of players to have appeared for the Jets last season. I’ve focused less on each individual player this week, mainly because there really isn’t that much information out there about these guys. Rugby outside the top four leagues is very poorly recorded and reported, and as such it’s hard to make accurate assessments of the players without turning up to every regional league game! JAMES BAILEY – WING/CENTRE – 20 Bailey is a recent signing at Fylde, having been part of their set-up last season. He made his first-team debut in their 2015 pre-season, but didn’t appear again for the first team. He combined his second-team commitments with his university studies, and as he has now graduated he has signed full-time for Fylde’s first team. Bailey was previously the top try-scorer for Southport, winning that honour in two consecutive seasons with a staggering number of tries (60+ over two seasons), leading to Fylde snapping him up. He has appeared for Sale Sharks’ Jets side against Northampton Wanderers last season, and also represented Lancashire under 20s. CIARAN CONNOLLY – WING/FULLBACK – 23 Connolly is a Sale FC stalwart, having played at the club since 2011, and playing throughout their 2015/16 National League 3 (North) promotion campaign. Comfortable at wing or fullback, last season he made 17 starts and 5 appearances off the bench, scoring 4 tries over the season. He also played for the Jets against Northampton Wanderers. RALPH DOWDS – CENTRE – 22 Another Fylde back, Dowds had a stop-start 2015/16 season, making 13 appearances and 6 bench appearances. Making all his starts at outside centre, he was unfortunately unable to cement his place in the first team as Fylde finished in mid-table in National League One. Previously with Myerscough College and Loughborough University, he played for the Jets against Leicester A last season. HENRY HADFIELD – WING – 20(ish) Hadfield is an experienced operator within the county set-up, having played for England Colleges while at Myerscough and having turned out for both Lancashire and North under 20s last season. He also made 6 appearances (4 starts) for National League Two (North) outfit Tynedale as they finished in mid-table. He was previously in the Salford Rugby League academy, having been talent spotted while playing union at age grade level. He appeared for the Jets against Newcastle A. RORY HARDMAN – FULLBACK/WING – 20 The first of the players in this report to be competing in BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) level rugby, Hardman plays for Durham University. He was a BUCS Sevens finalist with Durham last season, scoring in the final as Cardiff Met took the title. For the Jets, he made a bench appearance against Newcastle A. LUKE HARRIS – SECOND ROW – 21(ish) A former number 8 for Wirral Grammar, Harris has been captain of the Leeds University rugby team in his newer role as a second row. I can’t find much information about Harris’ playing career aside from these titbits, but he did appear for the Jets against Newcastle A, also popping up on the bench. JOHNNY MATTHEWS – HOOKER – 23 Of all the players in this report, Matthews has almost certainly played at the highest level. After having represented England Counties in 2014, following a stunning season for Sedgley Park (17 tries in 25 games), he signed for Championship side Rotherham Titans. Unfortunately for Matthews, he was unable to break into the first-team picture, and re-signed for Sedgley Park for the 2015/16 season having made 6 appearances for the Titans over his 2 years there. He went straight back into his old starting spot at Sedgley Park, scoring 10 tries from 23 starts, and making 3 appearances off the bench. For the Jets, he started their final game against Northampton Wanderers, worthy reward for a great season back at National League Two (North) level. JAKE SQUIRRELL – SCRUMHALF – 20 Squirrell is the second Durham University player to be mentioned in this report, and the third in total (Diogo Ferreira appearing back in Week 1). Another product of the Myerscough Academy, he is another to have represented Lancashire under 20s last season. Also turning out occasionally for Vale of Lune in the National League Three (North), he started on the bench for the Jets’ fixture against Northampton Wanderers. KYLE THOMAS – BACK ROW – 20(ish) Thomas, being the final player in the report, is the one who I have had most difficulty finding information about. The only things I can find is that he is a back row, he played for Northumbria under 20s last season, and he was another to appear for the Jets against Newcastle A. For both of our sakes I hope he’ll receive more attention for his rugby performances in seasons to come. I’m fairly sure I haven’t missed anyone out, and therefore those are all the Jets representatives from the last season who are not currently in the first-team squad. I’ll continue to keep an eye out for Jets on loan next season, and hopefully return with another set of reports next summer! Thanks for reading. The ages shown are the players’ ages on the 1st September 2016, normally the start of the Premiership season, and all statistics are compiled from rugby.statbunker.com and the relevant organising bodies (ERC, PRL, etc). The Shark Tank would like to thank Matt Ferguson for all his diligent work over the last six weeks. His Twitter can be found here. Follow The Shark Tank on Twitter for more news, analysis and opinions on all things Sale Sharks. Whether it be 'A New Era', #JoinTheHunt or #CarryThemHome I am largely uninterested in the cacophony of slogans, hashtags and other marketing spiel that is currently enjoying its run of salad days as modern rugby tightens its link with social media and the digital world. And yet having attended Sale Sharks' open training day for the club's supporters last Thursday, I couldn't help but concede that the 'New Era' moniker the club is currently trying to attach to the nascent ownership group led by Simon Orange and Ged Mason, is now oddly fitting. The chasmic gap between Sale supporters and the previous ownership group on certain issues in recent years has been well-documented, as have concerns that as rugby continues to professionalise, the intimacy between player/club and paying fan has continued to erode. So perhaps the wonderfully accessible, and inclusive open training session hosted by Sale Sharks at Carrington last week is indicative that the summer of 2016 will serve as the beginning of a genuine 'New Era' for both club and supporter. After all, a club-hosted event that, for possibly the first time ever, offered complete transparency regarding the playing and coaching staff, and the club's facilities, was a resounding success amongst the 500 or so Sale-following attendees, myself included. Affording supporters the opportunity to 'peek behind the curtain' onto the training pitch and have direct access to the players - even just for a single afternoon in early August - has undeniably helped perpetuate the palpable excitement and positivity that has engulfed Sale Sharks in recent weeks. Thursday was a day unimaginable for Sale fans that have long suffered from a piecemeal, if not apathetic, top-down approach to supporter interaction (despite the best efforts of the club's social media department who were often left to bear the brunt of supporters' animosity). Should Sale maintain this newfound ethos of pellucidity towards its fans (and with similar events planned for later in the season the outlook in this regard is extremely positive), we will be able to disregard talk of a 'New Era' as being exclusively a marketing buzzword. Lost in my ramblings was my desire to express my gratitude to all involved at Sale for putting on such a wonderful afternoon. Additional ThoughtsThe following is a compilation of disparate bits of news, rumour-mongering and observations made during my time at Carrington:
Follow The Shark Tank on Twitter for more news, analysis and opinions on all things Sale Sharks. Following on from last week, I continue to look at those players who did not appear on Sale Sharks’ official Jets team page, but appeared for the Jets last season, with a particular focus on how they got on in the 2015/16 campaign. TOM SANDERS – LOCK – 22 Sanders is a long-time Jet, representing the Sale Sharks second XV since at least 2013. Dominant for his club side Caldy, he regularly appears in despatches on the club’s website and is a frequent Man of the Match winner. Indeed, this last season he was selected alongside Jets colleague Forbes Edwards in the Cheshire squad which made it to the 2016 final of the County Championship as well as being picked in The Rugby Paper’s Dream XV for the division. This represents the latest milestone a remarkable recovery from an extremely serious injury: after 20 minutes against Luctonians in January 2014, Sanders suffered a freak neck injury and was rushed to hospital, leading to the cancellation of the game. In total, for Caldy this last season he started every single one of their 30 league games this season, broaching the 100 cap mark for the Wirral side on his way to doing so. He also managed three league tries, against Macclesfield, Huddersfield and Harrogate. The Caldy vice-captain made 5 appearances for the Jets in 2015/16, starting in the victory against Newcastle A and the loss to Gloucester United. He appeared off the bench against Worcester Cavaliers, Leicester A and Northampton Wanderers. It’s tough to see a place opening up for Sanders in Sale Sharks’ squad, as Sale have excellent depth in that area of the pitch. Bryn Evans, Andrei Ostrikov, Jonathan Mills, Lou Reed, George Nott and Josh Beaumont are all first-team squad players with experience in the second row, and short of a miracle it would appear that another productive season with Caldy is on the cards for Sanders. His best chance of making it into the top flight, in my opinion, is to be picked up by a Championship side and being scouted from there, following the same path as former Shark Hendre Fourie. BEN MARTIN – HOOKER – 19 Ben Martin represents something of an anomaly amongst players in these reports, in that he is yet to make his senior debut for any team. Last season he was listed as a member of the Sharks’ under 18s squad, and his club side is Chester. Indeed, he appeared on the bench twice for Chester last season, against Sale FC and Preston Grasshoppers, without being called upon on either occasion. For Sale Sharks, Martin has regularly turned out for the under 18 side, as well as featuring as a Jet last season. He was the replacement hooker in the first Jets game of the season, against Worcester Cavaliers, before dropping down to the under 18s. It will be interesting to see how Martin develops next season, whether he stays at Chester and fights there for the hooking slot, or whether he has a better chance of development at a different club at this level. TED STAGG – HOOKER – 26 The man replacing Ben Martin on the Jets’ bench was well-travelled hooker Ted Stagg, who probably has the most experience in professional rugby of all the Jets from last season, having been a regular in various Championship sides since the 2011/12 season. Stagg, who started his career down south with Bath and Taunton, found a starting place at Rotherham Titans before moving onto Doncaster Knights via Richmond, London Scottish, and Plymouth Albion. For a player who has appeared for so many clubs, Stagg is no cast-off. He has represented England under 16 and under 18, and was part of a Championship select XV that took on a touring New Zealand Maori side in 2012. Last season, Stagg was unable to nail down a starting spot for the Knights, appearing in 9 league games, making a solitary start against Yorkshire Carnegie back in October. In the British and Irish Cup, he had more success, starting 2 of the Knights’ 4 games, against Newport Gwent Dragons and Cornish Pirates. Stagg also made 3 appearances for Sale Jets in 2015/16, each time coming off the bench against Newcastle A, Gloucester United, and Northampton Wanderers. Another season at Championship level beckons for Stagg, who will look to build on a promising first season in Yorkshire and push on for a starting spot. CONNOR WILKINSON – FLYHALF – 19 A flyhalf called Wilkinson, eh? This Wilkinson is a recent graduate of Kirkham Grammar, a solid production line for rugby talent, finishing his schooling there in 2015 after captaining their first XV. He also appeared for North under 16s, leading to a trial for the England under 16 team. Since then, he has been playing for National League One outfit Fylde, alongside the previously-mentioned Jets Sam Bedlow, Tim Jeffers and Tom Morton. Last season Wilkinson was called up to a Lancashire under 20 squad, and toured Russia in June with the England Counties under 20 squad. I don’t have a definite date of birth for Wilkinson, but he appeared for an under 18s side last year, and an under 20s side this year, so it’s fair to assume that he will be roughly 19 at the start of the coming season. Making his Fylde debut off the bench in February against Ampthill, Wilkinson has since made two starts, against Darlington Mowden Park and Blackheath, before coming off the bench late on against Wharfedale. Not yet trusted with kicking duties, Wilkinson did manage a try against Blackheath, capping off a good debut season for the rookie. For the Jets, Wilkinson appeared as the replacement fly-half in the first two games of the season, against Worcester Cavaliers and Leicester A, after which Sale played pacier backs on the bench and used Macleod as a backup 10 from his starting position at inside centre. Next season Wilkinson should see more game time with Fylde and the Jets side, although he is still definitely behind Tom Morton in the selection for the second string XV. PAOLO ODOGWU – WINGER – 19 Although England under 20 cap Paolo Odogwu didn’t make any appearances for the Jets last season (as he only arrived this summer from Leicester Tigers), and is unlikely to make huge waves in the first team next season. Since he played at a similar level to much of last season’s Jets, at Leicester instead of down at Heywood Road, I feel it is entirely appropriate to include him in these reports. For Leicester’s “A” side, he played in 4 of the 5 A League fixtures, missing out in the final game against Worcester Cavaliers. He was unable to cross the whitewash in any of the second string games, but had a rather more productive season for Loughborough Students. For the National League One side, he made 9 appearances, of which 8 were starts, and scored a remarkable 8 tries. Braces early in the season against Richmond and Wharfedale were followed by a single effort in the Wharfedale reverse fixture, before a hat-trick against Fylde lowered the curtain on an extremely impressive first season at this level. Odogwu was one of Sale Sharks’ stand-out players in the pre-season Singha Sevens tournament, scoring a record-breaking eight tries in three games. He wasn’t running them in from 80 metres, but his composure close to the line and the Christian Wade-esque ability to break past the outside shoulder of the covering defender were noticeable, and should serve him very well in XVs. I find comparisons to Wade, aside from that specific talent, slightly off-focus as he is much more of an abrasive runner with a shimmying stride pattern that is more reminiscent of Rugby League’s sharpest, Tim Simona and Sam Tomkins coming quickly to mind. His most impressive attribute, by far, is his extremely fast feet, which when coupled with a decent fend and a willingness to attempt to break through contact instead of avoid it, make him a serious challenge for defenders. Still 19, another season with the England Under 20s surely beckons, and hopefully he can improve on the two bench appearances he made in last year’s Six Nations. For Sale Sharks, I would be very surprised if he didn’t get some game time in the LV Cup, and his second year at Loughborough University will provide him with a full season at a good level developmentally. There are areas of his game he needs to work on, but he doesn’t shy away from putting in hits against bigger men, or competing in aerial contests, both of which will help him immensely as he develops as a Premiership-standard winger. An excellent highlights compilation of Odogwu is available below: Next week, I will wrap up the Jets reports, covering the remaining handful of players who turned out for the Jets last season. Since these players generally have very limited experience at senior level, usually due to age, I can’t discuss them in as much detail as the players in previous weeks. The ages shown are the players’ ages on the 1st September 2016, normally the start of the Premiership season, and all statistics are compiled from rugby.statbunker.com and the relevant organising bodies (ERC, PRL, etc). Matt Ferguson is looking forward to seeing Odogwu run in another eight tries at the Singha Sevens finals on Saturday. His Twitter can be found here. Follow The Shark Tank on Twitter for more news, analysis, and opinions on all things Sale Sharks. |
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June 2017
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