Jan 07 Sale v Ospreys

Reasons to be cheerful …..!

Well, that’s that then – the end of our Heineken Cup campaign for this season, and, if the French succeed in getting their way, probably next season too. The biggest disappointment for Sale fans was that it ended in a whimper rather than a bang, yet, in what effectively amounted to a dead rubber, it wasn’t really that surprising.

Still, given the way our season has panned out, with the injuries, the fixture congestion and the ‘black cat’ syndrome that has dogged the Club from the very beginning, we exited European competition with our heads held high. We played with pride and passion, performing magnificently against a team that took gamesmanship to a completely different level, aided and abetted by a referee who must surely by now have been awarded the freedom of Swansea.

We may be out, but we’re certainly not down. I would urge all those who left Edgeley Park on Saturday evening dejected and disappointed to embrace the positives and see this defeat not as the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. The European chapter may be closed but the rest of the story is yet to be written. There still are reasons to be cheerful.

Even though our squad has been decimated to an extent that would cause most Clubs to implode, we still manage to produce performances week after week. It’s fair to say that we don’t have the swagger of last year, and that our back play doesn’t sparkle, but we have a talented squad of players who can and do step up every time they are asked to do so.

We have talent a plenty in our younger ranks. Coxy is strong, aggressive and a born leader. David Tait, who, let’s not forget is barely 19, is big, mobile and extremely versatile in any back row position. Briggsy is a compact, talented hooker who can also fill in at flanker. Ben Lloyd is fiery and combative and can play both second and back row. Hillsy, who is a former under 21 flanker, is quick around the park and bursting with fire and ambition. With young lads of this calibre, the future will always be bright. They now have opportunities to stake their place for first team action, and I’m sure they will not be found wanting.

In Corcho, Pop Eye and Eifion “The Fridge” Roberts, we have unearthed stars of both the present and the future. Eifion has come up against many hardened, experienced props this season and has always delivered. He will only get better with experience and once he’s fully mastered the dark arts of front row play, we will have a seriously good prop on our books.

Ben Foden has played in every game this season, and shown his versatility on both wings. The Ospreys game was only his third start at scrum half. He’s strong, big, can tackle like a demon and is seriously fast. He can deliver quick ball from the scrum and ruck, always has an eye for a gap and never gives less than his best. If he can develop and improve his passing game then I believe he can become England’s first choice number 9 for many years to come. On Saturday he came up against Justin Marshall, the vastly experienced, former All Black captain, and more than held his own. Maybe, at last, we have unearthed the rightful successor to Brush?

Corcho is the find of the season and is rightly coveted by all the big European Clubs. He’s versatile, powerful, fearless and aggressive and never gives up. He was magnificent on Saturday and for me was our best performer. He’s effective both in the loose and the tight and always strives to fire up his team mates. With Corcho in the side, there is always hope.

Before the end of the season we can expect to welcome back many of our big name injured players: Nacho, John Henry, Bomber, Big Ted, Quates, Elvis and Robbo. All have been missed and will add experience and class to our struggling squad. We need a few older heads to supplement the younger shoulders.

Leicester Tigers have qualified for the Heineken Cup quarter finals, ironically at the expense of the Ospreys, and this could work to our advantage. It’s unlikely they will risk injury to their first choice 22 in the EDF semi final, with the match against Stade Francais only days away. It’s more likely that they’ll go with a weaker squad like last year in the game against Wasps. If you intend to try to take the Premiership/Heineken Cup double, then, I’m afraid the EDF Cup pales into insignificance.

Finally, we can get back to the Premiership and to referees we know, if not necessarily trust. It’s all too easy to blame the officials for any loss and I try, wherever possible, not to do it. But, Saturday’s display from both the referee and touch judges was the worst display I’ve ever been unfortunate enough to witness; woeful, inept, inexcusable and downright dangerous. We may well have lost had others officiated, but I’m sure any other referee would’ve been able to spot the constant infringing by the Ospreys: offside, killing the ball, lying on the wrong side, not rolling away, high tackles, coming in from the side, not retreating 10 metres – all of these went unpunished.

Perhaps the biggest sin of all, and for me the most inexcusable, was the failure to halt play when Osprey’s Mike Powell was down and obviously seriously injured. The referee’s primary duty is to ensure the welfare and safety of the players on the field. In spite of the pleas from the crowd and the players, the officials unbelievably let play continue for a good few minutes. It brought back unpleasant memories of Graham Bond’s injury. I never thought that I’d ever witness such an incident again. I just hope that the young lad is alright and will be fit to play again.

So, even though we have failed to make the quarter finals of this year’s Heineken Cup, there is still hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. We may yet win the EDF Cup and I’m sure we’ll make our way into the play-offs. All we need is belief and some good luck for a change. For all those who feel dispirited and downbeat, remember, the future’s bright, just not necessarily orange.