Sale were comprehensively beaten 40 points to 19 this afternoon as a dominant Saracens strolled to a bonus point victory. Lets take a look at the three things: What is a reasonable result to expect for Sale? A losing bonus point was what many - myself included - thought would constitute a meaningful result for Sale against who I think are simply the best team in English rugby. However a shocking display from Sale's pack that repeatedly gifted Saracens kickable penalties and even a penalty try along with aimless kicking from hand and a plethora of unforced errors meant after 40 minutes the game was well and truly out of Sale's reach and even securing a lbp would be an uphill battle. Things did get interesting later on as Sale scored their third try of the game (ironically a penalty try) with seven minutes left but even a herculean effort was not enough to get a try bonus point as Sale left the Allianz Park empty handed. How can Sale win? I outlined on Thursday how Sale could defeat Saracens and they then proceeded to do exactly the opposite of what I advised. Saracens scored after only 3 minutes and although Sale replied to make the game 10-7 after a Charlie Hodgson penalty, Saracens were able to keep the scoreboard ticking over as Sale gave away too many needless penalties. Some poor, aimless kicking from hand also helped give Saracens a huge share of possession allowing them to keep the pressure on Sale and not giving Sale the chance to test their defence, which played right into their "shut up shop" system of play. All things considered, Saracens smothered Sale across the 80 minutes and were deserving winners. Can Sale keep up their free-flowing attacking performances against the stingiest defence in the league? Another three tries to add to this season's tally makes for nice scoreboard viewing however two of Sale's three were scored via rolling maul (more on that later) as for the most part Sale's attack stuttered and faltered. It didn't make for good viewing. The Bad
The Good
Sale MOTM: Magnus Lund.
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What is a reasonable result to expect for Sale?
Saracens are, in this writer's opinion, quite simply the best team English rugby currently has to offer. Yes Northampton Saints may have emerged triumphant in overtime against the London-based team in last season's dramatic Aviva Premiership final but Saracens as a collective are the deepest, most clinical and disciplined team in England; possibly Europe. Playing Saracens is always a monumental test for any team let alone Sale as there is very little margin for error in any area, because Saracens are so very good at punishing every little mistake conceded. You have to look no further than Sarries' 39-0 drubbing of Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop earlier this month for evidence of that; Saracens played simple but clinical and most importantly defensively rigid rugby that resulted in Saracens scoring points with every ingress they made into Quins' half. Nothing flashy just a very opportunistic gameplan from Mark McCall's men who in the end dispatched Harlequins with relative ease and Sale must be well aware of how dangerous Saracens can be when given any sliver of a chance to score. With all that taken into account a repeat of Sale's 24-19 defeat in the corresponding fixture last year at Allianz Park which resulted in a losing bonus point for Sale would be, in my opinion, a satisfactory result. Of course I expect to see Sale go all out and give it their all and hopefully secure a win but I have tempered my expectations when considering just how strong a team Saracens are. A win in any capacity would be a fantastic result but Sale had such a successful campaign last season because they were able to travel to top-four and top-six sides like Saracens and consistently pick up at least a commiserative losing bonus point so if a similar result comes from Saturday's game, I won't be too disappointed. How can Sale win? I have already underlined just how a strong team Saracens are but their early season form, more specifically their narrow victories over London Irish and Wasps respectively, have shown that they are beatable if the appropriate gameplan is implemented. I am oversimplifying it obviously but Saracens' strength is building a lead against their opponents and forcing them to challenge their airtight defence, so the key for Sale is to score first and force Saracens to play catchup. Sale did it when they were beaten last year at the Allianz as did London Irish and Wasps and in all three cases it led to an incredibly open and competitive game - exactly what Saracens are not suited for. Saracens showed their quality in coming back to win in all three of the mentioned instances but Sale's best chance at beating them on Saturday comes down to forcing Saracens out of their comfort zone with a fast start like what we saw at Gloucester and the strong second-half defensive and decisive counter-attacking performance Sale employed last week against London Welsh. Can Sale keep up their free-flowing attacking performances against the stingiest defence in the league? For a Union fan used to seeing a solitary try apiece on my ventures up to the AJ Bell stadium; Sale's try-scoring prowess so far this season has been nothing sort of revolutionary. Scoring twice against Bath, four against Gloucester and then another six against London Welsh, Sale have scored twelve tries in only three games this season and are averaging four a game in 2014-15 (I did not need Opta Sports to work that one out). Whilst Saracens have not been as defensively tight this year as they have known to be in seasons past (the Quins game excluded) they shipped four and three to Irish and Wasps respectively, a record that should make for a tasty encounter on Saturday. Tom Arscott has been electric for Sale but with Mark Cueto close to full fitness will he keep his place? Will Luke McLean's improving form with each round continue? Will the Pacific Islander combination of Sam Tuitupou and Johnny Leota be reunited or will the impressive Mark Jennings get another chance at Outside Centre with Will Addison rules out with injury? And most importantly will whatever combination of backs Sale utilise on Saturday bear fruit against a Saracens backline that could possibly feature England Internationals Brad Barritt, Alex Goode, Chris Ashton, Owen Farrell and Sale old boys Richard Wigglesworth and Charlie Hodgson? We will find out in less than 48 hours. Having begun attending the University of Leeds this week, I happened to go down to the sports fair for new students or "Freshers" being held at the University's gymnasium. At said fair there was a booth for Yorkshire Carnegie offering season tickets (13 games) to new University students for £10(!!) pounds only. Ten pounds. Being a massive Union nut I'd planned on attending a few Carnegie games at select points this year when my studies permitted but this deal was quite simply too good for me to miss and I will certainly be attending Headingley many more times in the coming months than initially I anticipated.
So my point is this; I am one of apparently over a hundred students who took Carnegie up on their offer today, could this be an idea Sale Sharks use in the future? Now playing in Salford which is most easily accessed via bus or train from Manchester City centre, where both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan are situated, surely University students both new to the city and who have moved towards the city centre from areas like Cheshire and Lancashire are a demographic Sale Sharks could be targeting with an offer similar to Yorkshire Carnegie's especially if attendances do not improve as hoped this season. Additionally Sale could also offer similar promotions at Universities such as Keele, UCLAN (in Preston) and Lancaster all of which are within a reasonable travelling distance of the AJ Bell stadium. I am not suggesting Sale offer season tickets for as little as £10 especially as this could easily draw the ire of those fans having to shell out more for their respective tickets but such a tiny fee certainly caught my eye today and Sale's status as a Premiership team with hopefully more European Champions Rugby next season could prove a very big draw especially since Manchester's universities attract students from all across the country. Finally I want to commend Yorkshire Carnegie on such a fantastic initiative. I will not be going to every Carnegie game this season, not by a long shot, but such a great deal will definitely mean they get more of my business not just this year but over my next three in the city as well. Sale finally managed to play a complete game over the entire 80 minutes as they swept aside London Welsh 46-8 with a convincing six-try win earlier this afternoon. 1) Can Sale avoid the "banana slip" of two seasons ago? It was touch and go for a long time, as although Sale held the lead, Welsh were resolute in keeping the game close until finally being undone by four Sale tries in the final 15 minutes. At one point in the second half Welsh even had possession five metres from Sale's tryline with the score at 18-8 in Sale's favour. However Sale's dominance across the pitch came good as they avoided a second humiliating defeat to Welsh, eventually cruising to a bonus point win. 2) Can Sale go a full 80 minutes without losing anyone else to injury? Alas, no. Dynamic, but oft-injured Outside Centre Will Addison was forced off after 23 minutes with a nasty-looking ankle injury; an especially disconcerting turn of events because it was a freak leg injury that kept Addison out of most of last season. Worth noting that Addison has had both of the last two seasons ended prematurely by injury and it would be incredibly dispiriting if he has to endure another lengthy spell on the treatment table which could possibly lead to serious discussions about the feasability of Addison continuing his rugby career. That is an absolute worst-case scenario however and with some luck Addison will not miss too many of the upcoming games, if any. I am not a physio for Sale Sharks so take this for what it is: conjecture. Also I was informed today that Dan Braid is close to full health and should be back next week so there's some good news. 3) What will the attendance be on Saturday? 4,953 was the figure reported by both Sale's official website and the MEN. >5,000 for a Premiership match is disappointing, make no mistake about it, but considering the relative strength of today's opposition along with their very small fan base in Oxfordshire, a number that small (albeit only a small drop off the Bath attendance) is unfortuantely, to be expected. However it is not games against London Welsh that will determine Sale's financial future. In an ideal world Sale would be pulling in closer to 7,500 for a game like today's but this was always going to be fixture for a smaller crowd. The key will be; can Sale get attendance back up to around 7,000 for the game against Wasps in two weeks' time and will they be able to pack the AJ Bell Stadium for games like Munster/Clermont in the ERC and for the visits of Northampton, Leicester, Saracens etc? We shall see.. The Good
The Bad
Two Final Things: A shout-out to Matt Ferguson, who helped me identify the last time Sale had a player score a hat-trick in a Premiership:
And another shout-out to Peter Curtis Brown who is supplying Shark Tank Rugby photos from each Sale home game this season for use on the blog.
1) Can Sale avoid the "banana slip" of two seasons ago? The parallels are eerily similar; a winless start to the season for Sale, a home match against a London Welsh side widely expected by many, if not all, to be rock bottom of that season's Aviva Premiership table and me standing in the South Stand watching on.. but Sale will be hoping for a much improved result than the last time the Sharks and Welsh met at the AJ Bell stadium, a bitterly dispiriting 29-19 triumph for the Oxfordshire-based team. That game was the worst I have ever seen Sale play in my then six-years of attending Sharks games and it is a performance I have not seen them slip to in the intervening years since. By all accounts, this is a game Sale should win, even without the services of perhaps 1/3 of the first choice XV. Sale are quite simply all around the better team with greater depth, more experience at the Premiership level better attacking options and stronger team chemistry. Welsh have talent yes, experience and vigour in their ranks as well but their lack of cohesiveness and team chemistry - a byproudct of signing 26(!) new players this summer after being promoted - has been nakedly evident in their first two games of the season, two losses in which they conceded over 50 points in both games. As both Bath and Exeter have shown Sale; limiting unforced errors and playing simple but effective rugby; in the scrum, lineout, with ball-in-hand etc. is the key for undoing a Welsh team that will ultimately struggle to compete as the team still gels. But for me at least, the memory of that humiliating shock defeat two years ago still haunts me, and should serve as a perfect reminder for Sale that they cannot afford to rest on their laurels on Saturday even against a Welsh team that few believe will survive being back in English rugby's top-flight. Sale simply cannot afford to gift this game to Welsh, the same way it could be said they did to Bath and Gloucester. 2) Can Sale go a full 80 minutes without losing anyone else to injury? Last season Sale were incredibly lucky with injuries, or lack thereof. But as what usually happens with sporting karma and good-will, Sale have endured a very difficult, injury-hit start to the 2014-15 season losing Tommy Taylor, Sam Tuitupou and Johnny Leota before the season even began, Marc Jones (kindof), Dan Braid and Mark Cueto against Bath and then Nathan Hines (out for three months) and Marc Jones (again) against Gloucester last week. Whilst Tuitupou, Leota and Braid could potentially feature on Saturday (according to the MEN's ever reliable Neil Leigh), a bigger concern for Steve Diamond will be ensuring that everybody comes through the game unscathed. With Saracens and Northampton Saints away looming on the horizon, the very last thing Sale need is to lose any more first-team regulars. 3) What will the attendance be on Saturday? I promise this will be the last time I bring up attendance on "Three Things" lest I go the way of a broken record, but a quick look for tickets against London Welsh on Sale's official website does not paint a very encouraging picture: Enough, unfortunately, said.
Another week, another disappointing loss for Sale, who went down 34-27 to Gloucester at Kingsholm on Saturday. But unlike last week's defeat by Bath, Sale started very strong, a performance that saw them good value for their 17-6 half-time lead after a blistering, three-try 40 minutes with scores from Tom Arscott, Chris Cusiter and Luke McLean. It was not to last however as Sale proverbially shot themselves in the foot after half-time with repeated infringements that saw them penalised and duly punished by the boot of Greig Laidlaw. But to blame the loss solely on Sale is a misnomer, as more important than Sale's own mistakes was the resurgent play Gloucester enjoyed after a below-par first half, dominating the scrum and line-out and out-scoring Sale 28 points to 10 (and three tries to one) in the second half to give themselves a fully-deserved win over the eighty minutes. 1) Who was unavailable to play? Marc Jones, Dan Braid, Mark Cueto, Johnny Leota and Sam Tuitupou were all absent from today's game. Jones and Braid's absences the most glaring (more on that later) but all five could be due for a return to the squad for next's week match against London Welsh. With two losses out of two to start the season, getting first-team regulars back will be a welcome boost for Sale. 2) What changes will be made for Gloucester? Shalva Mamukashvili, Jonathan Mills and Tom Arscott replaced the absent Jones, Braid and Cueto respectively, Ross Harrison started at Loosehead Prop with Andrei Ostrikov and Andy Forsyth coming onto the bench. 3) Have Gloucester fixed the issues from their thumping by Northampton? Gloucester's first-half performance was very reminiscent of their showing against Northampton last week, however over the entire 80 minutes and especially in the second-half, Gloucester were massively improved in all areas. More performances like today's will see them challenge Top-Six. The Good
The Bad
What did you make of today's game? Leave a comment below or Tweet us £ Note: As part of Shark Tank Rugby's coverage of Sale Sharks this season, "Three Things" will be a weekly feature that will preview Sale's next fixture with specific focus on three individual aspects of the game both on and off the field.
After an opening week 20-29 defeat to Bath Rugby last weekend, Sale Sharks will look to bounce back with a trip to Kingsholm and Gloucester Rugby on Saturday. Here are three things to consider before this weekend's game: 1) Who is unavailable to play? A by-product of their defeat by Bath, Sale saw Captain Dan Braid, Mark Cueto, Marc Jones and Ross Harrison all forced off the field over the course of 80 minutes due to injury. Sale's in-house policy in regards to injuries is typically one of reticence so until the squad is announced on Friday at 12pm, it is anyone's guess as to whether any of the above will feature. Braid as Captain would likely be Sale's biggest loss, although the injury-ravaged depth at Hooker could mean if Marc Jones is not able to feature, latest Shark recruit Shalva Mamukashvili or 19 year-old Cameron Neild could be asked to play significant minutes, likely opposite Glocuester's former British Lion, Richard Hibbard. The aforementioned Braid and Jones, in addition to Winger Mark Cueto and Prop Ross Harrison and last season's centre pairing Sam Tuitupou and Johnny Leota who were both notable absences last weekend, are all staples of Sale's first choice team but it as yet unclear which player's returns are imminent and which player are set for a lengthier stay on the sidelines. 2) What changes will be made for Gloucester? Without knowing the answer to Question 1, who is injured and unavailable for Saturday, we are no closer to answering Question 2, what changes will Steve Diamond and co. make for the test of Gloucester at Kingsholm? However it is reasonable to imagine that Sale will have identified the problems that plagued their defeat to Bath, most notably the ill-discpline, missed tackles and lack of penetrative play in attack, and will look to make appropriate changes to the starting line-up to address said problems. Tongan No.8 Vilhami Fihaki is a possibility to come into the team as an unforced change either replacing Mark Easter at No.8 or being brought onto the bench as a stronger ball-carrying option, additionally both Sam Tuitupou and Johnny Leota returned to training this week and either, if their fitness prevails, could be brought into Sale's midfield. Should Mark Cueto, Dan Braid, or Marc Jones NOT make the trip down to "Castle Grim" due to injury, look for Tom Arscott, Magnus Lund, or Shalva Mamukashvili respectively to replace them in Sale's starting lineup. 3) Have Gloucester fixed the issues from their thumping by Northampton? To say Gloucester did not play well in their opening game against Northampton last Friday is putting it midly. Yes, Saints were at their absolute clinical best but Gloucester were simply woeful in every aspect of the game in their 53-6 loss. The issues that dogged their scrum from last season do not have appeared to have disappeared even with the additions of John Afoa and Richard Hibbard, they produced no offensive pressure against Saints struggling to link any phases of play together when they had the ball and on defence, Gloucester were unable to gain any momentum throughout as Saints retained possession with relative ease and strolled through some incredibly poor Gloucester tackling and defensive alignments. Such a performance for a team of Gloucester's calibre, talent level and investment is unacceptable and both David Humphreys and Laurie Fisher will have Gloucester working incredibly hard this week to bounce back with a win over Sale. Nevertheless, if Sale are able to establish dominance in the scrum and Gloucester cannot produce a more coherent attacking stratagem, one feels this is a game well within Sale's ability to win. Easily the most disappointing aspect of Sale's 20-29 defeat to Bath Rugby on Saturday was the meagre crowd of only 5353 that turned up to witness the start of the new Aviva Premiership season in the North-West.
It was a clear blow to Sale Sharks the club, who had hoped that moving kick-off times to 2pm on a Saturday would have resulted in a substantial increase on the average home crowd of 6350 from last season that ranked them 11th out of 12 in average attendance across the Premiership for 2013-14. It was an especially disheartening turnout considering the relative success Sale enjoyed last season on the field; a surprise 6th place finish meant qualification for the inaugural European Champions Cup, yet that was not enough to encourage fans to show up for the home opener of a brand new rugby season, a game that typically draws larger crowds than most others over the course of a season. If 5353 is going to be the crowd size that pushes Sale's average attendance up over the course of the coming season, one thinks only with trepidation at the thought of how small a crowd will show up for an LV Cup game in the darkest depths of the Northern winter. So where do Sale go from here? It was a disappointing day all-round for Sale with poor performances from key players and ill-discipline costing the Sharks dearly as they went down 20-29 to Bath Rugby on a dreary afternoon at the AJ Bell stadium.
Note: As part of Shark Tank Rugby's coverage of Sale Sharks this season, "Three Things" will be a weekly feature that will preview Sale's next fixture with specific focus on three individual aspects of the game both on and off the field.
1) How big a crowd will the match draw? The primary reason for Sale's decision to move most of their home games this season (TV scheduling notwithstanding) to Saturdays at 2pm is one of crowds, or lack thereof. During the last years of Sale's tenure at Heywood Road and after the team's move to Edgeley Park in 2003, Sale had predominantly played their home games on Friday nights, a schedule that initially survived the move over to the AJ Bell. However after another season of hosting less-than-desired crowds (with an average of 6350 fans attending home games last season, Sale finished 11th in average Premiership attendance, with only Newcastle Falcons below them) Sale's scheduling decision has also been prompted by both a desire to increase professional Rugby Union's stagnating popularity in England's North West since Sale's move to Barton in 2012 and partly by a desire to lessen the burden on one Brian Kennedy's purse strings. Whilst it must be considered that season and home openers usually draw disproportionate crowds, so perhaps a future look at Sale's average attendance for the 2014-15 season will be a better barometer of whether Sale made the correct call in changing gamedays, it will be interesting nonetheless to see just how much interest Sale have been able to drum up for the start of the new season. 10,000+ will likely be a goal for the club on Saturday although for the season, Steve Diamond has repeatedly stated that an average attendance of 8,000 a year would make the club break even, making that the logical goal for the year. Should Sale be able to pull in a crowd of that size for Saturday's game, both players and businessmen alike will be greatly encouraged with those types of numbers turning out to cheer the side on against their West Country opponents. 2) Can Sale get off to a fast start? Much of the rhetoric surrounding Sale Sharks before the start of the new Aviva Premiership season has stressed the need for a quick start to Sale's 2014-15 campaign. Pivotal Fly-Half Danny Cipriani's contract expires at the end of the season and one would believe that a successful start to the new season will assuredly help lubricate contract negotiations between Sale and the English international. In addition to Cipriani, a strong Autumnal run of form will help prove Sale's 6th place finish last season was not just a flash-in-the-pan and will help attract other players to link up with Sale from next season, including those who could push Sale into contention for the top four. Finally, winning the games available to Sale before they lose top squad members to the autumn and spring international windows will form a strong basis for Sale to push on for European qualification later in the season as well as encourage the hopefully numerous fans to keep returning to watch the team play throughout the year. However the immediate obstacle standing in Sale's way is the high-spending Bath team whose sights are set firmly on breaking into an airtight top four. Sale managed the double over Bath last season including the heart-in-mouth 12-11 win at The Rec last March but Bath's quick pace and fluid style of play is perhaps better suited for the "summer rugby" that a Saturday afternoon in early September should provide. 3) Who is Sale's starting centre partnership this season? A common complaint amongst Sale fans over the last three or so seasons has been the (perhaps unfairly) critiqued play of Sale's centre partnerships, in particular that of the Sam Tuitupou - Johnny Leota combination with many fans disappointed with Sale's emphasis on the "Bosh-Bosh" (two strong but slow physical players at both Inside and Outside Centre) strategy amongst the backs. However whilst often maligned, the Sammy T-Leota partnership has been a brutally effective one for Sale and both were a key reason for Sale's success last season. But with Sale's move to Saturday afternoon games as opposed to dark, damp and dour Northern Friday nights, it is to be expected that Sale will opt this season for a more weather-appropriate style of (physical) "running rugby", one it would not seem that Tuitupou and Leota are best-suited for. So who will be Sales' preferred centre partnership next year? The return from a series of freak injuries for Will Addison, a very talented Outside Centre prospect who first broke into the Sale team back in 2012 gives Sale a dynamic and pace-y but hard-tackling player who would form a nice contrast with either Tuitupou or Leota. Also to be considered are Mark Jennings, the former England U20 back who enjoyed a run in the first team in a myriad of roles towards the end of last season including both Inside and Outside Centre; Andy Forsyth who moved from Leicester Tigers last season and who started the season with a series of strong performances before losing his place in the first XV to a returning Johnny Leota and even perhaps Academy prospect Sam James who turned out for Sale during pre-season. I personally envision that it will be Sam Tuitupou and Will Addison who start at 12 and 13 respectively against Bath on Saturday but Steve Diamond's selection will go a long way to indicating who will be first-choice for Sale this year. Leave a comment below stating any predications you have for Saturday's game or tweet us @SharkTankRugby on Twitter. |
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