A sublime moment of individual brilliance from Danny Cipriani leading to a Johnny Leota try was enough to separate Sale and Newcastle in an incredibly close and hard-fought 'Northern Super Derby'. Positives
Negatives
A return to Europe next week as Sale host Saracens next Saturday in a game I will be able to attend for a change (huzzah!).
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With announcements, I am told, on new contract renewals impending and Neil Leigh's article in last Thursday's MEN on this very topic, I thought it would be prudent to take a look at Sale's upcoming renewals and assess which of Sale's soon-to-be out of contract players should take priority in getting their signature signed on the dotted line. Expiring ContractsFirst, here is a list of those Sale Sharks players that are definitely out of contract at the end of this season*:
*DISCLAIMER - there may be more Sale players with expiring contracts but those listed above are those I know for certainty are out of contract. Oh, the woes of being an independent blogger. All seven of those players are key first-team members and hopefully all will be re-signed at some point over the coming weeks, but who's signature has to take priority for the good of the club? Here, I rank those with my own perceived slant of individual importance starting with.. 1a) Danny Cipriani The obvious choice, Danny Cipriani is a wonderfully unique player with genius and creativity few in the rugby world can match. Over his three years at Sale however he has also developed the more fundamental aspects of being a successful fly-half that eluded him earlier in his career including being able to play behind a weak pack and adhering to a stricter, more tactical gameplan under Steve Diamond that occasionally restricts his natural flair in favour of nose-grinding, tough rugby. Beyond that, Cipriani is one of only a handful of rugby players famous worldwide beyond the inner circles of Union, popular and incredibly marketable. Cipriani is (now) a massive positive for Sale both on and off the field and is an absolute must to re-sign. 1b) Michael Paterson If Cipriani is Sale's number one priority this autumn, than Michael Paterson is more than just a close second. One of the most astute signings I've ever seen, Michael Paterson is second only to Dan Braid in terms of impact on the team made under Steve Diamond's tenure. What made Paterson such a fantastic signing and such an important player in the Sale Sharks team is his versatility and the fact he's so bloody good at everything. Paterson runs the lineout, tackles everything, wins turnovers, functions as an important cog in both the Sale scrum and rolling maul and is a deceptively good ball carrier, able to play anywhere from Lock to No.8. A consistent string of high quality performances both this season and last, has seen him gain recognition as a statistical darling of Opta, feature in multiple teams of the season 2013/14 and even play two games for England over the summer. Losing Cipriani would be the major news story of the off-season but a departing Michael Paterson may end up having the biggest effect on the Sale squad next season and beyond. Another must re-sign. 2) Tommy Taylor Although yet to feature this season with a knee injury, Tommy Taylor is worthy of a long-term commitment. Why is Taylor ranked higher than incumbent Hooker Marc Jones? Having watched Taylor over the last two seasons since he made his Sale bow, Taylor is just as competent as Jones in the loose and the scrum, perhaps not with the same ferocity but equally as effective. But crucially, Taylor's accuracy at the lineout far exceeds that of Jones - a blemish on Sale's performance as a team this season - and considering Taylor is still only 23 and a legitimate contender for an England place in the 2019 World Cup, retaining Taylor just takes precedent over Jones. 3) Eifon Lewis-Roberts With Alberto Di Marchi so far being a total bust of a signing for Sale and Ross Harrison working on a conversion to tighthead to back up Vadim Cobilas and further his own England aspirations, re-signing Eifon Lewis-Roberts even at 33 takes on added importance. 4) Tom Arscott I'm a big fan of Tom Arscott and I love the high-energy game he brings on the wing and his form in the season's first eight rounds certainly warrants a new contract. But is he an absolute necessity to re-sign however? Probably not. 5) Marc Jones Do not think Marc Jones' low rank on this list means I think any less of him as a player, Jones in this case is just a casualty of other areas of Sale's team being of added importance, especially with the emergence of fellow Hooker Tommy Taylor who I believe has the brighter long-term future at Sale. That said, I would jump at the chance to keep Jones around at the club for the long-term. A Taylor/Jones rotation at Hooker is amongst the league's best. 6) Andrei Ostrikov A cult figure at the club and a valuable rotation player, Ostrikov, especially with Nathan Hines, Michael Paterson, Jonathan Mills and possibly Josh Beaumont ahead of him on the Sale depth chart, probably is the lowest of Sale's priorities over the next few months unfortunately. Again he is someone I would be remiss about losing especially with his bizarre try-scoring antics but other areas are just more important for Sale at the moment. Reminiscent slightly of Bath away last year, Sale performed yet another smash-and-grab, this time at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday night beating Harlequins 16-12 to record their first away win of the season. It wasn't pretty and certainly wasn't a game for the casual rugby fan as chances came at a premium in an error-strewn 80 minutes, but a fantastic effort from the Sale squad enabled them to leave South-West London with their first win in seven seasons. The Good
The BAd
Live on BT Sport, Sale travel to the Twickenham Stoop to face Harlequins, looking to continue their fine form from last week's decisive 36-8 win over London Irish. Here's three things to keep an eye on:
How do Harlequins fare without their international players? On Friday night Harlequins will be without the services of a quintet of key first team players; Joe Marler, Chris Robshaw, Marland Yarde and Mike Brown are all with England on international duty whilst winger Asaeli Tikoirotuma is also away with Fiji. A massive boost for Sale, who's own international absentees do not match Quins' in either number or prestige, Harlequins are without key squad members across the entire team; front-row, back-row, back-three etc. presenting Sale with a fantastic opportunity to snatch a win at the Stoop. However Quins impressed last week beating Gloucester 22-15 without all the aforementioned players and with Danny Care having been released back to the squad and named on the replacements bench they will not be a walkover for a Sale side looking to record their first away win of the season. Will the rolling maul be as destructive as last week? Having the ascendancy at the scrum is a critical measure of all rugby games not just because of the way Sale are structured to play and it will be pivotal as to whose sets of forwards can establish control throughout tonight's game. Last week, Sale's tactic of the rolling maul was the key reason for the Sharks' victory (it contributed to four of Sale's five tries) and Quins will hope to put up a much more productive defence against it than Irish did. If however Sale can get it rolling (pun intended) again, it should offer Sale a strong platform to win the game. If not however, it will be interesting to see if Sale can match Harlequins free-flowing backs play as they attempt to find other ways to break through the Quins defence. I would think having Danny Cipriani back in the fold should mean we should hopefully not see a repeat of the Leicester debacle two weeks ago. Can Sale record their first Premiership victory at the Stoop since May 2008? Harlequins, especially at home at the Twickenham Stoop, have been something of a bogey team for Sale in recent years, with us having to look back to a 23-16 triumph in May 2008 for Sale' last win over Harlequins on their home turf (in the Premiership). To put it in perspective, that was seven seasons ago. Seven. With Quins missing so many key members of their squad, Sale's first-team largely injury free and only missing Chris Cusiter and Johnny Leota to their respective national teams, this is most likely Sale's best chance in six years to finally defeat Quins in front of their own fans. More importantly, if Sale's aspirations of reaching the top-six for a third time in four seasons are to be realistic, games against weakened fellow top-six sides like Quins tonight have to be won especially after a slow start to the season. BONUS: How about this; FOURTY out of a possible forty-six players between both teams tonight are either English or English qualified. That, professional football, is what the Premier League et al. should be aspiring to. Prediction: Harlequins 16-12 Sale Sharks The title says it all really. Five tries from Sale in total yesterday, three of which came from the rolling maul tactic and two of those being awarded as penalty tries as London Irish were unable to find any way to halt Sale's rampaging pack without infringing as the Sharks cruised to a decisive victory, 36-8. Part one of a critical month of games for Sale in the Premiership went as ideally as possible as, despite being literally neck-and-neck with Irish going into yesterday's game with a solitary losing bonus point in Irish's favour separating the two teams, Sale had no problem with their adversaries whom they strolled over and through leaving the AJ Bell with a crucial five points ahead of the next fortnight's trips to Harlequins and Newcastle. The Good
The Bad
Game two of November's three premiership games for Sale up next as the Sharks head to the Twickenham Stoop to face Harlequins. The squad will be buoyed by this weekend's performance and a continuation of such form as well as Harlequins' notable omissions due to international duty (including an England quartet) should make it a very close game. Sale Sharks return to Aviva Premiership action tomorrow with London Irish the first of a trio of key games in consecutive weeks that could either push Sale back into contention for a top-six place or doom them to another 'relegation scrap'. Here's three things to keep an eye on: Will Sale play another 'game of two halves'? I really don't want to talk about last weekend's debacle at Welford Road any more than I have to for fear of being put on suicide watch so I will keep this brief; Sale completely capitulated in the second half of last weekend's LV game against Tigers, shipping 26 unanswered points en route to a morale-crushing 29-13 loss. This week, with a far more experienced backline, a stronger bench, Vadim Cobilas back in the match day 23 and Dan Cole not available to come off the bench for London Irish, Sale have re-evaluated their gameplay and will look to put their second-half woes behind them, head coach Diamond has repeatedly assured us. After a frankly pathetic performance last week, the only way really is up for Sale, or at least one would hope so since this is by all means a must win game for Sale considering their home advantage and relative strength of their opponents. The key will be if Sale are able to consolidate and more importantly, build on and add to any lead they can amass. It doesn't have to be pretty but this cannot be another game Sale let slip through their fingers. The return of Mark Jennings One of the few bright spots so far this season for Sale has been the play of centre Mark Jennings who has clearly made the biggest leap in ability and confidence of all of Sale's young players coming though the academy system. However the return from injury of Sam Tuitupou, coupled with a nagging injury has kept Jennings out of action since the October 11th game against Northampton Saints which, coincidentally he scored a try in. With Johnny Leota on international duty with Samoa over the next two weeks, Diamond has placed his confidence in Jennings, selecting him at Outside Centre for tomorrow's game. Jennings has displayed flashes of both power and attacking flair so far this season predominately playing at 12 which, in this writer's opinion, is a position stifled under the system employed by Diamond and Sale, as the inside centre is usually relegated to being either a dummy runner, a link to moving the ball out wide or receiver on the 'pop-pass' set play. With Tuitupou back from injury (who does all three of those things exceptionally well), this should allow Jennings more time and creativity with the ball as an outside centre and it will be interesting to see which position Jennings is better suited for having spent time at both this year. Will Halani Aulika score another wonder try? As a die-hard Sale fan, there are few players on opposition teams that I sincerely enjoy watching play. However Irish tighthead Halani Aulika is one of the exceptions, even if he does make Sale backs and forwards alike look silly with his wonderful ball-carrying ability (this was from the 33-33 draw two seasons ago): Prediction: Sale Sharks 30 - 21 London Irish
Continuing the trend of high-scoring games we as Sale fans have enjoyed this season, I expect this to be another shootout (although if I'm honest I'm pining for the days last season when we beat Irish 15-3). Irish themselves have scored a good amount of points this season with a talented backline including former Shark Fergus Mulchrone, Andrew Fenby and Alex Lewington, although their equally as leaky defence should mean Cipriani and co. will be able to run up the score. Considering the manner in which Sale have been beaten this season by the likes of Northampton, Saracens and Clermont, I thought, and not unreasonably, that we might have seen the worst of Sale's performances this season. Today changed all that. In what was the worst display of rugby by Sale I have seen, not just this season but in my 10 or so years of following the Sharks, Sale blew a 13-3 halftime lead to Leicester Tigers who eventually ran out 29-13 winners. Losing to Leicester Tigers is not a problem. Losing away from home is not a total concern. Conceding nearly 30 points and a try bonus point isn't either although it is disconcerting. These things happen, sometimes all in the space of one dreary autumnal afternoon. But what made this the most abject display of rugby I have ever seen is the manner of the defeat. This is a Sale team that lead comfortably at halftime. Their pack, as one would expect with it being as close to full strength as possible, was dominating Leicester's which was composed entirely of academy graduates. Leicester weren't even at the races except for a flurry of attacks in the last 10 minutes of the first half that Sale were able to repeal. The game was for Sale's to lose. And lose they did. Continuing a frankly embarrassing trend of collapsing inwards as soon as the team holds a lead over their opponents, Sale conceded 26 straight points in the second half to what was for all intents and purposes a third-string Tigers side. The Sale scrum (a full-strength, Premiership pack) was single-handeldy dismantled with the introduction of the returning Dan Cole. On their return to the field for the second-half, Sale played with no desire, purpose or flair as the scrum, along with every other aspect of the forward's game, fell apart. Sale's play with ball in hand was littered with either sloppy execution, miscommunication or poor decision making that compounded any inroads Sale managed to make against a resurgent Tigers team. Once again, the second string backline failed to make any impression that they deserved to be contending for a first team place. How Bryan Redpath continues to draw a wage from the club is simply mystifying considering the utter lack of anything resembling a prepared backs move on show today. Diamond as well must surely be under considerable scrutiny this weekend considering that despite this being acknowledged as a game and a competition Sale were invested in competing in and winning, it was his charges under his 'direction' that managed to blow a commanding lead against what could pass as a Championship side. Dan Braid's comments in the post-match interview were especially damning in which, and excuse me for paraphrasing here, he essentially told the reporters "we (Sale Sharks) have no plan B". How can a Premiership standard team not have a secondary system to employ if their initial gameplan is not working? And considering that our first choice style of plan has won us only three games out of a possible 10 competitive games so far this season, questions need to be asked not only of the team but of the coaching staff as well. The relative strength of the two sides today along with the score after 40 minutes points out to how pathetic Sale were in the second half. Rugby is a game of 80 minutes and Diamond needs to find a system that allows for effective play throughout the game instead of spending the last forty minutes clinging desperately to a slim lead. A truly disgusting performance and I feel for all those who made the journey to Welford Road. PositivesThe abjectness that was Sale's second half display this afternoon is making it hard for me to think of anything encouraging but there was, admittedly a few things to be pleased for:
NegativesI have already expounded the disgust I feel for Sale's performance today but there are a few more specific points I wanted to elucidate.
Sale's remaining games in the month of November, Irish at home, Harlequins and Falcons away, all in the Premiership now take on added importance considering the miseries of Sale's ERCC and LV campaigns. I cannot understate the importance of the next three weeks and I sincerely hope I do not have to write something similar to today's match report over the next few weeks. If I am forced to report on further defeats, I feel big changes might be coming to the club. Feedback, comments, opinions are all appreciated both left here and on Twitter @SharkTankRugby. What did you make of today's game? Sale will look to build off their bonus-point victory over Wasps last weekend as they head down to Welford Road for the second round of this year's LV Cup. Here's three things to keep an eye on:
Nathan Fowles. An academy graduate and long-time Sale Jet, Nathan Fowles is set to make his first start for the club this season despite the release of Scottish international Chris Cusiter back to the club after being omitted from their match day 23 for the Scotland-Argentina game. Fowles is someone I have made no secret of my excitement for. Playing in the Darlington 7s at the start of the season, Fowles showed off all of the attributes that makes him such a talented prospect; quick-thinking, speed to burn and a perpetual danger to break makes comparisons amongst the Sale faithful to current England scrum-half Danny Care are both inevitable and accurate. His game-time has been limited so far this season however with both Chris Cusiter and Will Cliff firmly entrenched ahead of him in the Sale scrum-half pecking order making the Leicester game on Sunday an excellent opportunity for Fowles to stake his claim for increased gametime. It will be very interesting to see just how Fowles gets the Sale chains moving and if he can contribute to a rare win at Welford Road. Fowles' 'ceiling' as a player is much higher than fellow scrum-half Will Cliff's and with Chris Cluster's deal expiring at the end of next season, Fowles who at which point will be 23, will, if all goes to plan, be first in line to inherit the number 9 shirt. Strong performances in the opportunities he is afforded before then however, such as on Sunday, may accelerate that process. Definitely a player to keep an eye on. A very strong Sale pack. Upon reading the team sheet for Sunday's game, I was surprised to see a very strong selection of Sale forwards picked to start the game. Once injuries (Nathan Hines et al.) had been factored in, it is only Ross Harrison deputising for Vadim Cobilas who is on international duty with Moldova that is not at current, a clear first-choice member of Sale's pack (more on Josh Beaumont later). The relative strength of the Sale pack indicates just how high this competition is on Sale's list of priorities this season (rightly so in this writer's opinion) but it is also a dynamic that should be observed during Sunday's game. Sale's scrum has struggled mightily this season regardless of competition, even against a clearly second-string Wasps side last weakened. Considering Leicester's starting scrum is comprised predominately of academy players, it will be especially disconcerting if Sale once again struggled at the set-piece considering the inexperience of their opposition. Josh Beaumont is now Sale's salvation at No.8 Without wishing to sound like a metaphorical stuck record and considering I wrote a piece last week on how Magnus Lund could be Sale's solution at No.8, I'm afraid I have to draw attention again to the selection of Josh Beaumont at No.8 against Leicester. Beaumont put in a MOTM performance for Sale last weekend against Wasps (his best yet in a Sale shirt by a long way) despite being shifted midway from lock to No.8 where he put in an equally impressive performance. Beaumont is clearly highly regarded by the Sale staff as both a lock and a backorder and considering the weakness that has been No.8 for Sale this year, Beaumont could very well step in and fill a massive void for Sale considering the noticeable improvements he has made in ball-carrying and as a lineout receiver. A second impressive game in successive weeks on Sunday would likely earn him a starting berth against London Irish next weekend as the rotation of the Sale squad begins to formulate greater competition for places. Prediction: Leicester Tigers 20 - 24 Sale Sharks A stronger pack to begin the game and some exciting prospects in the backline should give Sale a good opportunity to pick up their first win at Welford Road since 2009. Never discount Tigers though. Injuries to the national team permitting, Sale will not lose two key players in Danny Cipriani and Michael Paterson to England duty later this November. However the teams fielded for the games against London Irish, Harlequins and possibly Newcastle Falcons in the Premiership later this month will be a marked departure from the team's supposed "first-choice 15" as many amongst Sale's ranks have received the call to represent their respective national teams in this year's autumn internationals. Lets take a look at how the latest round of international fixtures will affect the Sale squad. Who Has Been Called Up?With all national squads now announced we know for certain that Sale will be without:
What Impact Will This Have On The Squad?All of the above are players likely to be involved in Sale Sharks' match day 23 in some capacity so obviously their absence will require Steve Diamond to rotate the squad around, what changes therefore can we expect to see? Alberto Di Marchi - Aside from the occasional glimpse of ability in the loose, Alberto Di Marchi has been for all intense and purposes, a bust for Sale, failing to replicate his form as Italy's first choice loosehead prop for the Sharks. Predominately starting on the bench for Sale this season, look for academy product James Flynn or fellow summer-signing Darren Fearn to take his spot on the 'pine'. Shalva Mamukashvili - Only one option here to replace the Georgian and that is 19 year-old Cameron Neild, with Tommy Taylor still out with injury. Vilhami Fihaki - Fihaki has been a non-factor for Sale this season starting only one game in the LV Cup last weekend and playing only a total of 79 minutes in four separate appearances in the Premiership this season. That considered, Mark Easter will likely retain his place as No.8 in Premiership games although the performance of Josh Beaumont at the weekend or a possible switch for Magnus Lund could displace Easter and move him to the bench. Chris Cusiter - Will Cliff is the obvious replacement to Cusiter as Sale's backup scrum-half. That being said, it would be interesting to see Nathan Fowles get a chance to log 60 or so minutes as a starter although I wouldn't count on it happening. Johnny Leota - Leota's absence should hopefully pave the way for the impressive Mark Jennings to get another extended run in the first team as he had earlier this season although likely at outside centre as opposed to inside. Will Addison, who Diamond perhaps sees as more of a natural 13 considering his use of Jennings predominately as a 12 this year could also get the nod to replace Leota. At this point and with Addison's injury status in the air, either of the two could go into the first team. Luke McLean - Mike Haley's impressive two-game cameo for Sale in the first rounds of the European Rugby Champions Cup should have consolidated his place at full-back with McLean unavailable. Tom Arscott is also an outside bet to start at 15 especially if Mark Cueto is fit to start on the left wing although additional exposure for one of Sale's brighter talents in Haley should not be missed in this writer's opinion. Likely Starting Lineup For The Irish, Harlequins and (possibly) Falcons GamesLewis-Roberts, Jones, Cobilas, Mills, Paterson, Braid, Seymour, Easter, Cliff, Cipriani, Arscott, Tuitupou, Jennings, Brady, Haley.
Bench: Fearn, Neild, Harrison, Beaumont, Lund, Fowles, Ford, Addison Anything you want Shark Tank Rugby to cover in the future or got specific thoughts on Sale's team for the next few weeks? Leave a comment or tweet to @SharkTankRugby Breaking a three-game losing streak, Sale emerged victorious in their first LV Cup game of the season, beating Wasps 32-29 on Saturday afternoon with tries from Alberto Di Marchi, Josh Beaumont, Vilhami Fihaki and Charlie Ingall and an important late penalty from Nick Macleod. The Good
The Bad
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