The 'shackles are off' reason why Sale are on guard going to Exeter

Second-place Sale are Exeter-bound on Sunday fully aware that they can’t afford another slip on the road if they are to deliver a much-desired home semi-final in the Gallagher Premiership. The Sharks went into this weekend’s round 18 fixtures still sitting on a 12-point cushion ahead of third-place Northampton despite last week’s second-half collapse away to the Saints.

It was two years ago when a last-round defeat at the Chiefs extinguished their hopes of playing a last-four match at home in Manchester, a loss that left them having to go back to Exeter and get knocked out in the semi-finals a week later.

This latest trip to Devon – which arrives just a fortnight after a shadow Sale XV were hammered 46-3 at Sandy Park in the semi-finals of the Premiership Rugby Cup – is the first of four away league matches that the Sharks have in their six remaining games before the semi-finals.

They accept they need to keep their points tally ticking over to ensure they are not caught coming down the finishing straight and relinquish the current hold they have on a knockout game at the AJ Bell.

“That is something we are striving for, this block of games is very important to us,” said Sanderson, whose Sale side must go to London Irish, Bristol and Gloucester after hosting Saracens next weekend before they get to May 6 and a final round fixture at home to Newcastle.

“We are very fortunate to have the vast majority of all our internationals back. That is unheard of. I have never been in a spot where we have only one international player [Ben Curry] when you are coming second in the league. It’s their loss, our gain in that respect. Exeter, what a challenge because they are on form. With the people that are leaving Exeter, it’s a bit of a last-dance scenario for them.

“I’m sure there are a lot of people that want to leave that place with good memories. It has all been out in the papers who is going and who is staying. That in a sense frees you up. It limits the white noise that would have been circulating pre-Christmas, so the shackles are off.

“Omar (Mouneimne) is doing good stuff with the defence and they have changed how they attack. I don’t know if you have noticed since the start of the season they are a bit more direct, going back to some of their multi-phase attack – which is wherein lies the challenge.

“They take the most metres post-contact, they have the most carries, the most tries over six phases, and they are second only to us in terms of the collision dominance in defence. It shows you what sort of a physical battle you have to win down there on their turf.

“This is a game that is probably going to test us more than any other physically and we have got to up to speed there.”