Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby | Matchday Programme

SALE SHARK S V BATH RUGBY Friday 24th November, KO: 19:45

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A WORD FROM THE A XE W E L C O M E B A C K T O T H E S A L F O R D S TA D I U M F O R A N O T H E R M A S S I V E G A M E U N D E R T H E I N C R E A S I N G LY C H I L LY F R I D AY N I G H T L I G H T S .

Bath Rugby are in town, it’s first v second, and I can’t wait.

I think it’s a very different Bath to the one that we welcomed here last season for that memorable game, which we pinched at the end with a great try from Arron Reed. Johann van Graan has had a bit more time now to build his team and it’s no surprise to me to see them up at the top end of the table because I thought they were coming into some really good form at the back end of last season. The games they lost were very narrow defeats and you could see from the quality of the players they’d recruited that it was only a matter of time before they found some cohesion. That’s what’s happened. This season you can tell they’ve been really well coached and well drilled, and they’ve developed a distinctive, forceful style of play.

There are elements of their game this season which, statistically, are right up there with any team in the league.

They’ve got the most kicks retained, most dominant carries and second most dominant hits in defence. It just so happens that we have the most

THERE WAS NO CHINK IN THE INVINCIBLE ARMOUR THAT IS TOM CURRY. IT WAS LIKE, ‘RIGHT, LET’S GET IT DONE. LET’S GO’ dominant defensive hits so there will be some really good match-ups there for you all to see tonight. I’ve got no doubt it’ll be a great game and it’s one we’re desperate to win. We want to make the Salford Stadium a fortress, a place where teams hate coming.

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A lot of teams are rotating their squads ahead of a really busy period and I was asked during the week whether I was expecting or hoping Finn Russell to be playing tonight.

Obviously as I write this, I haven’t seen the Bath team, but I hope he is out there. We want to see the very best of them because that will bring out the best in us. But regardless of the personnel changes in their team, we feel the plan will remain the same.

Last Friday, Newcastle rotated a fair bit against us and managed to give us a scare. I said after the game that it had been ‘squeaky bum time’ in the second half and it really was. On reflection – and it’s easy to say that when you’ve watched it back a couple of times – we weren’t at our physical best last Friday. The defensive side of the game relies on emotion – if you want to tackle someone you need to really want to tackle them and I felt like we weren’t quite there emotionally.

Were we a touch complacent or were they just really good on the night? Maybe it was a bit of both, but we know there’s no room for any complacency tonight because the challenge is very different from a Bath team who will test us in every aspect.

To be fair, the lads addressed that emotional, physical side of the game themselves this week. They recognised that they weren’t where they needed to be and as a coach, that’s always brilliant to see.

able to call on Ben’s brother, Tom, for the rest of the season. I’m sure you’ve read about his injury and the surgery that he will be having in the next couple of weeks.

From my perspective, I will be supporting him as much as I possibly can as he rehabs. In fact, I joked this week that I was more gutted than him when we found out the scale of what needed doing. There was no chink in the invincible armour that is Tom Curry. It was like, ‘Right, let’s get it done. Let’s go’.

He is very positive about getting back and getting back in a Sale shirt.

Hopefully it’ll happen towards the back end of this season but if not, he will be good to go next.

Clearly, Tom’s influence on this team is huge and we’ll miss him massively, not just on the field at the weekend, but in how he drives standards every single day. But on that front, I know he’ll want to contribute in the same way that George did when he was injured.

Tom is part of the family here and I know you will support him as much as you possibly can. If you see him around tonight, make sure you let him know.

Enjoy the game, Al

We’ve got some brilliant leaders on the field and it’s been fantastic to have our captain, Ben Curry, back doing what he does best.

Unfortunately though, we won’t be 7

SHARKS HAVE THE NEED FOR REED IT ’S BEEN A FLYING START TO THE SE A SON FOR ARRON REED, WITH THE 24-YE AR- OLD TOPPING THE G ALL AGHER PREMIERSHIP ’S TOP TRY SCORER CHART AF TER CROSSING THE WHITE WA SH FIVE TIMES IN HIS FIRST SI X G AMES .

It’s led to calls for international recognition for the Chester-born winger, who played for England at under 18 and under 20 level but also qualifies for Scotland through his ‘fully Scottish’ dad.

But Reedy, who played his junior rugby at Preston Grasshoppers before joining the Sharks Academy at the age of 15, is keeping his feet on the ground and instead focusing his attentions on winning an end of season Nando’s from his back three teammates.

“It’s healthy competition for us,” he said. “I read what Roebuck said in the programme a few weeks back and he said I owed him a Nando’s. What he didn’t mention was that he owed me one for winning a kicking comp.

“Roebuck has actually assisted me a few times now this season and he’s not too happy that I haven’t returned the favour yet.

ROEBUCK HAS ACTUALLY ASSISTED ME A FEW TIMES NOW THIS SEASON AND HE’S NOT TOO HAPPY THAT I HAVEN’T RETURNED THE FAVOUR YET. 9

“We all do the Nando’s competition every year and it helps to push each other. Obviously, we wouldn’t ignore a pass just to try and score ourselves but competition in the squad is a good thing. We all want each other to get better and I think the results this season show that we all are improving.

“I’m really enjoying my rugby at the moment and I think the backs are all starting to click. We’re trying to get the ball out to the edges and score tries. Fordy is a big driver in that because he wants to attack and get the ball wide and that suits me.

“For the last couple of years I’ve been working on trying to get involved more. As a winger you can stay wide and you might see the ball two or three times in a game but I want to be involved far more than that. I want to find ways to get my hands on the ball and make things happen.”

Your Sharks have won five of their first six games to sit top of the Gallagher Premiership going into round seven and a home clash with second place Bath. It’s a fixture that brings back happy memories for Arron after he scored the winning try with the clock red to send the Salford Stadium wild.

“I don’t feel like we’ve put in a full, 80-minute performance yet but it’s a good thing and the sign of a good team that we’re winning but probably not playing as well as we know we can,” he said. “I feel like if we put it all together we could blow some teams away. Hopefully that starts this weekend but we know Bath will be a really tough challenge.

“They’ve got so many good individuals and the way they play is very different to last season. They’ve got Finn Russell pulling the strings too, so we know we need to play well to win.

“The home game with Bath last season was brilliant. We probably didn’t play our best in that game but we showed loads of character to come back and get the win.

“It was a fantastic finish to the game.”

So, to THAT question about international rugby – and if the choice did come, England or Scotland?

“I’ve played for England at youth level but my dad is fully Scottish and he’s desperate for me to play for Scotland.

He was born in Edinburgh and grew up around there and my gran is always asking when I’m going to play for Scotland.

“I’ve had a couple of conversations with Scotland over the past two seasons but I’ve got an open mind. I do feel a bit of both but like I said, I just need to focus on playing well and scoring tries for Sale and we’ll see what comes after that.”

“I think every lad’s ambition is to play international rugby and I’m no different. But I know I need to focus on playing regularly and performing consistently for Sale.

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CAPTAIN (C)URRY WELCOME BACK TO A VERY COLD SALFORD STADIUM FOR A RE ALLY E XCITING G AME . A S PL AYERS WE FEEL LIK E WE HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE AF TER L A ST WEEK . WHILST WE WON , WE WERE DISAPPOINTED WITH HOW WE PL AYED AND WE K NOW THAT STANDARD WON ’ T WIN US G AMES AG AINST TE AMS SUCH A S BATH .

This is first against second and it’s just the kind of game you want to play in, especially at home in front of a really good crowd.

Bath are in second place coming into this game and to see them up near the top of the league is no surprise to me.

They’ve got loads of too international players and they’re well coached. I’ve never had an easy game against them wherever they’ve been in the league and last year’s game here was a perfect example. We won it at the end with a really late try but it was tough.

THIS IS FIRST AGAINST SECOND AND IT’S JUST THE KIND OF GAME YOU WANT TO PLAY IN, ESPECIALLY AT HOME IN FRONT OF A REALLY GOOD CROWD. 13

They’ve added to their squad in the summer and brought in some real quality, including a fly-half you’ll all know plenty about. Finn Russell is a fantastic player and we’d be stupid if we hadn’t talked about him this week.

But there’s a balance and we need to be focused on far more than just Finn.

We can’t take our focus off the other 14 players because that’s exactly what he wants.

It has been a really good start to the season for us and if we can pick up good results this week and then next week against Quins, it’ll be even better. The first block of games, before the Champions Cup starts, is so important to us to make sure we have momentum and confidence for the rest of the season. Last season we started well and you saw where it took us, but the season before we didn’t perform in the first block and the pressure came on, and we found ourselves playing catch-up. It’s so tough in a league like this to put a run of wins together.

You’ll know by now that we’ll have to cope without my brother Tom for the rest of the season. He needs surgery on a hip injury and from a team perspective it’s a big blow because he’s a quality player and a big part of our team. It puts a bit of extra pressure on the rest of us, especially the back-row players, so we know we have to step up.

Personally, I’m gutted for him but I know he’ll come back stronger.

And I know he’ll still be a massive influence off the field and around the club. I had a long term injury last season so I know a little about how it feels. I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that’ll make it easier and he’ll have go through tough times.

But as a team and a club, we’ll support him and I know you will too.

And I know he’ll still be a massive influence off the field and around the club. I had a long term injury last season so I know a little about how it feels. I’m not sure there’s anything I can say that’ll make it easier and he’ll have go through tough times.

But as a team and a club, we’ll support him and I know you will too.

Enjoy the game, Ben

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FROM THE SHARK TANK D O U B L E F R I DAY N I G H T L I G H T S , A T O P O F T H E TA B L E C L A S H A N D T WO O F T H E WO R L D ’ S B E S T 1 0 S O N S H OW - W H AT ’ S N O T T O L I K E ?

The two Fridays in a row is taking us at the Shark Tank back to Edgeley Park days, and if those days are 2006 then we can’t complain – a side on the top of the table after coming close the season before, ready to go one better? Packed with Northern talent from one of the best academies around, boosted by some shrewd international experience? But we’re getting carried away again, so let’s focus on the here and now.

In retrospect it was somehow both a comfortable and nervy win over Newcastle this time last week. It felt like an experienced Sharks side always had a youthful Falcons outfit at arm’s length, and the scoreline would indicate so, but in reality it was a close run thing until the very end.

Some wayward kicking and inaccuracy in execution in the second half stalled Sale’s momentum and allowed Falcons to keep in touch for a result you suspect they’ll be both happy and frustrated with given the league positions and squad strengths. For Sale there were bright flashes of brilliance but not the full game dominance we’ve seen in other performances this season, with the defence especially uncharacteristically leaky.

That said there were a few excellent performances to mention, not least from those homegrown heroes. Reed and Roebuck seem to have made the wings their own this season and threaten in virtually every move, with both showing finishing excellence to take their tries. Gus continues to be quietly orchestrating this side, while in the pack we saw the future at tighthead from James Harper and Asher Opoku-Fordjour. A word too for Ben Curry who is leading by example in every game this season.

If you’d have told us six months ago that Bath would be second, we’d have assumed it was more based on alphabetical rankings at the start of the season than anything else, but this side with Finn Russell coming in has finally clicked as we always feared it could. Ollie Lawrence, in particular, looks hungry and ready to cause trouble – the Sale defence will really have its work cut out containing that talent tonight. That said, it’s a defence that has always risen to the occasion and we have to summon that South African element in the squad tonight to try and close down the options for Mr Russell, otherwise we could see a lot of running rugby in the wrong direction.

keep up a fantastic start to the season for Sale. Home advantage can make all the difference in these kind of games, so let’s create a raucous Northern Friday night atmosphere to make it as exciting for our boys (and intimidating for the opponents) as we did in that Leicester semi-final last year. Shout loud and proud, and enjoy the game!

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