Jan 07 Gloucester v Sale

Cometh the hour, cometh the men!


If you were to base your opinions about sports events purely upon the newspaper headlines in this weekend’s papers, you would probably think that Sale Sharks were given a lesson in rugby’s harsh realities at Castle Grim (Kingsholm) on Saturday. However, if you were lucky enough to watch the match, then you would know that these headlines only tell half the story.

Without a doubt the better side won: Gloucester played simple rugby, with power, pace, consistency and intensity, illustrating perfectly the beauty and benefits of resting and rotating your squad. Would that we were in that position?

Sadly the luxury of player rotation is not an option open to us because of the unbelievable run of injuries that has decimated our squad. This devastation has meant that we have to rely upon the same old faces, week in, week out, to put their bodies on the line. Is it any wonder these players look shattered?

I’ve now reached the stage where results for me are secondary; I’m satisfied and happy if we can finish a game with players still able to walk. It’s a truly sad state of affairs and something I never envisaged when we started out in this year’s Premiership campaign. Yet, although not everything in this garden is particularly rosy, there are signs of life, little green shoots if you prefer, that give hope and encouragement in what has become an increasingly barren landscape.

Given the restrictions of the salary cap, the future of any top class rugby team lies with its youth system and its Academy. The Gloucester game was a perfect illustration of this. Three of our try scorers, Foden, Schofield and Mayor either came through or were drafted into our Academy structure, and the fourth one, Rhys Jones, another Jets player, made his debut at full back.

Ben Foden is a player who continues to impress and improve with every game he plays. He scored yet another poacher’s try and harried, pressed and broke the gain line time after time. He did all this in spite of taking a heavy knock early in the game. There may still be one or two who question certain aspects of his game, but his commitment and determination can never be doubted. He plays to win, and he looked devastated after the game.

The same could be said of Chris Mayor. He, too, has had his critics, but for my money put in his best performance of the season. He looked sharp, tackled ferociously, ran some good lines and scored a beauty of a try. Chris is a player who seems to have been around an eternity, but people tend to overlook the fact that he’s still only 24. There’s plenty more to come from him.

Dean Schofield’s contribution on the field often goes unnoticed, perhaps even unappreciated by some. Yet he always produces and gives his best every time he plays. He adds physicality and athleticism in the second row and his grit and desire has at last rightly gained him recognition from the England selectors. The look of determination on his face as he raced over for his try said it all. No one, not even the rejuvenated and re-invigorated Mike Tindall, was going to stop him crossing that whitewash.

Rhys Jones made his first ever Premiership start for Sale Sharks at full back on Saturday at Kingsholm and looked like he belonged there. He played with confidence, composure and an assurance that was astounding for a nineteen year old. His open play was good, his place kicking and his kicking out of hand were excellent and his tackling was superb: at one point just before half-time he took out Adam Balding, a big burly back-row forward with a thundering tackle that surprised not only the Sale fans but most of the Shed too. Great things had been expected of Rhys, and on this evidence you can see why.

Although we left Kingsholm disappointed, this was tempered with enthusiasm and a certain degree of hope. We may have been rocked by injuries, and we may be losing matches which we would’ve won last season but our scouts and coaches have managed to unearth some real talent. We have good young players who will continue to improve with increasing game time: Foden, Jones, Mayor, Cox, Tait, Hills, Riley, Halsall, and Briggs are all players who will be essential to the future development of Sale Sharks.

Should the RFU get its way, with what is essentially a back-door plan to bring in central contracts, then these are the type of players we will be watching every week, until such time as England come knocking for more and either take them away from us or return them broken. Will we be happy to watch these boys represent Sale Sharks? Of course we will. Will the Clubs still expect us to pay the same prices once central contracts rob us of our elite players? I expect they will. Will we? Now, there’s the question.