Sale Sharks sticking to DNA as they look to extend home comforts
Alex Sanderson might be missing some of his England internationals, but Sale won't move away from their strengths against Bath
©Sale Sharks
They may have taken a while to get going, but last week, Sale Sharks progressed into the last 16 of the Investec Champions Cup.
After a chastening experience over in South Africa against the Stormers [a 40-0 loss in Round 3], Alex Sanderson’s troops produced a familiar response: Winning on their own patch.
A brace of tries from wing Tom Roebuck as well as scores from Ben Curry, Bevan Rodd and Tom O’Flaherty sealed a 33-7 victory over Toulon at the Salford Community Stadium.
The Sharks will now face the daunting prospect of travelling to European champions Toulon in April but at this moment in time, their immediate focus is on returning to the Gallagher Premiership.
This Sunday, sixth-placed Sale take on league leaders Bath and Sanderson is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits.
Both Sale and Bath will be missing their England internationals this weekend meaning from a Sharks perspective, the industry of the Curry twins, the power of Asher Opoku-Fordjour and the quick feet and aerial dominance of Roebuck will be absent from their plans.
The aforementioned Rodd, as well as Luke Cowan-Dickie and Raffi Quirke, are also currently part of England’s training camp in Girona while the likes of Will Stuart, Ted Hill, Ollie Lawrence and Ben Spencer aren’t available for Bath.
“Everyone’s taken a hiding over the last month” Sanderson begins. “They’ve had the Christmas period on what has been, so far, the longest stretch of games. It’s a time where your squad gets stretched and tested. There’s a lot of white noise. New Year, Europe, seeing family. It can detract you from your week-to-week prep.
“The level of competition is so high that if you get it slightly wrong or if you’re missing just a few players, everyone ends up on a hiding to nothing. At least there’s some consolation, we’re not alone.”
Sanderson admits ‘there is some ironing out to do’ as Sale look to steady their topsy-turvy Premiership form.
Following a stunning 38-0 win away at Bristol Bears, the Sharks fell to a frustrating 36-20 loss at Gloucester in their last Premiership outing but it is in the North-West where they have been able to strengthen their top-four aspirations.
Sale have won their last 11 home games in all competitions but in terms of the Premiership, they are unbeaten in Salford in over a year.
Not since Bristol on January 5th 2024 has Sanderson’s side tasted defeat in their own backyard and Sale are determined to extend that record.
“We’re back at home this weekend,” Sanderson added. “ If we win this game, we’re back in the top four again which is where we want to be going into the run-in”.
To achieve this, Sale will have to get past a Bath outfit who currently sit six points clear at the summit.
Back in October, the Blue, Black and White dismantled Sale at The Rec as they surged to a 40-13 success and ahead of Sunday, Johann van Graan’s side have been boosted by the return of star man Finn Russell.
After being away in Scotland’s Six Nations training camp, the fly-half - along with international teammate Josh Bayliss - were back with Bath on Friday, and Van Graan has opted to select the talismanic Russell for their trip to the North-West.
Bath are leaving no stone unturned as they aim to head into the Six Nations window with a victory and while Sanderson is more than aware of the threat the visitors pose, he is also keen to gain the upper hand in certain areas of the game.
“They won’t be lacking in confidence when they come to us,” Sanderson says. They’re coming pretty stacked.
“There’s always the defining Finn factor isn’t there? He’s that kind of player that if you put too much emphasis on him, he’ll pull you out of the line and put people through holes.
“We look for the edges we’ve got statistically with the best teams but they’re fifth in the league for maul dominance, we’re third. They are fifth for collision dominance and we’re second so there’s a small percentage, edges we focus on.
“We’re not trying to change everything we do because you’re playing a team and you can overcomplicate, trying to out-think and strategise.
“We’re going to try and keep it around what we’re traditionally good at and what we’ve certainly been better at since the autumn internationals; Set piece, physicality, and there’s always the ability to get the ball back in better areas. That’s the strategy”.
