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'Half their team is shark bait, so you can't go after half a team'

By PA
(Photo by PA)

Sale boss Alex Sanderson has underlined the importance of boxing smart in Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final clash against La Rochelle. It is 15 years since the Sharks reached the last-eight of European club rugby’s blue riband event, while a semi-final appearance would be uncharted territory.

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Standing between them and achieving that aim is a team lying second in the French Top 14. Like Sale, La Rochelle have a heavyweight, intensely physical pack and are among five French teams alongside Clermont, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Racing 92 targeting a place in the final four.

Sale progressed from the first knockout round by crushing Welsh challengers Scarlets 57-14, while La Rochelle saw off Gloucester at Kingsholm. “Their abundant strengths are obvious,” Sale rugby director Sanderson said. “It is a massively different challenge to what we faced last week, and one up from what we face in the Premiership, the calibre of player and physicality that they have.

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Devin Toner guests on RugbyPass All Access talking about freak athlete second rows

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    Devin Toner guests on RugbyPass All Access talking about freak athlete second rows

    “But I guess you have got to ask yourself is there any other team in the Premiership that is more suited to matching them physically, bar us? I don’t believe there is. You have got to do it as a collective, so if we are going to win this it is going to be a collective effort over some individual brilliance.

    “It is understanding the opposition threats, nullifying those threats and then imposing your own strengths on the opposition. There is no point going in against another heavyweight and trying to slug it out. I don’t believe that’s the way. There are tactics and boxing smart here.

    “It is so difficult to focus on one or two when they have got power and offload ability across the board. We have got this thing called shark bait where we look to target a few players that give teams momentum. Well, half the team is shark bait this weekend, so you can’t go after half a team.”

    Whatever happens in France this weekend, it will be another important staging post for Sale. Sanderson added: “We feel like we are creating something here – it’s just that no one has been paying that much attention to us – but now they are because we are in the quarter-finals.

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    It’s brilliant to be under the radar, to be honest. But you don’t want that forever, do you, because it is important the lads get some recognition for their efforts. I guess once you get to a quarter-final, no one is underappreciated or underrated because you have to be a good team to get there. For us, there is an energy and excitement about how special the occasion is on Saturday.”

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    M
    Mzilikazi 9 minutes ago
    'Ulster, though no one wants to admit it, isn't much more than a development province right now.'

    “I was wondering if the AIL had clubs that were on the tipping point of wanting to become pro, how close could they get to a current Ulster etc”.


    The Irish structure has always been the International team at the top, then the four provinces, then the clubs below that. Before the pro era in each province there were senior clubs playing each other, and that was pretty much “ring fenced”…no relegation or promotion. Then below that a series of junior leagues. The top players in the international scene played in the Five Nations(before Italy came in), and against the touring All Blacks or Springboks initially, then later Australia and Argentina came in. Actually I would need to go back and check the history of the teams coming onto the scene ie other than the Ab’s and Boks.


    Those International players would only play for their province three times each year in the Inter Pro games, with the Bok, AB etc games only in tour years. Rest of the time, every single Int. player played club rugby every weekend.


    Pro era dawned, and the four provinces became the sole pro teams, feeding up to the Int. team. There is no prospect as far as I can see of any AIL team ever becoming professional. Deepete, or someone living in Ireland would know more than I do, but what happens is fringe and academy players can play in the AIL, giving them game time they would not get otherwise. Top International players would rarely play at AIL level.


    I think in Australia the tyranny of distance inhibits an AIL type structure. Ireland is tiny, good rail and road sytems, and it is easy to play in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, any where, weekend after weekend. Imagine an All Australian league, and travelling from Townsville for a game in Margaret River, etc. etc.


    “I actually had the tables up and had no idea who was who lol”. Neither do I in some cases. A lot of new clubs since I played/lived in Ireland…I have to check who some are !!


    Good discussion here JW. Have enjoyed it.

    33 Go to comments
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    Rebeccakirby 29 minutes ago
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    Rebeccakirby 51 minutes ago
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    Rebeccakirby 51 minutes ago
    Fin Smith: Northampton Saints face battle to keep England star

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