Sale Sharks Season Preview: Alex Sanderson is planning a broader approach

Sale Sharks Season Preview

Coach: Alex Sanderson

Captain: Ben Curry

Sale Sharks failed in their bid last season to go one better than the year before when they lost the Premiership final to Saracens.

They took a step back, finishing third rather than second and finding themselves on the road in the play-offs. They pushed Bath all the way but injuries robbed them of options on the bench.

The occasion was doubly downbeat for the Sharks as it meant there would be no Twickenham finale for the likes of Sam James, Manu Tuilagi and Cobus Wiese, just a long goodbye on the coach back to the north.

It was not that long ago that Sale were scrabbling around in the nether reaches of the Premiership, spending below the salary cap and relying on the wiles of then director of rugby Steve Diamond to work the player market and get inside the heads of his charges.

The recovery work was carried on by Alex Sanderson when he took over at the start of 2021 and it says everything about how far the Sharks have come that the reaction to finishing third was one of dejection when at one time it would have prompted a party.

Recruitment

Sale, like most clubs, have been cautious in recruitment.

The imposing South African second row Le Roux Roets, who is 6ft 7ins and weighs more than 21st, replaces Wiese and the Fijian Waisea Nayacalevu will take over from Tuilagi in the midfield.

The Fiji captain scored two tries in the pre-season friendly against Newcastle nine days ago and ran some superb lines.

He will pose a different threat to Tuilagi as Sale look to broaden their approach having failed to accumulate enough try bonus points in the first 12 rounds last season.

This time last year, Sanderson felt Sale were equipped to reach the final again, but it is always different in a World Cup season and they were without the likes of George Ford, Tom Curry, Tuilagi, Bevan Rodd and Agustin Creevy initially.

Tom Curry did not feature until the play-offs having returned from France injured, Rodd was out of action for four months from the end of November and Tuilagi did not make his first appearance until December.

Finding From Early

It was only after the Six Nations break that Sale started to express themselves.

They scored 25 tries in the last six matches of the regular season having crossed for 10 in the previous six and with Tom Roebuck joining their list of England internationals in the summer, Sanderson will again be looking for a mix of power and pace.

Sanderson served his coaching apprenticeship at Saracens and he looks to create bonds with his players, as he revealed in an interview published on Investec’s website at the end of last season.

“There are easier ways of earning a living, but I cannot think of any that are more fulfilling,” he said.

“Mentoring is the thing I get most excited about and it gives me the most energy.

“The game can sometimes feel monotonous in terms of tactics and strategies where there may not be a lot of change.

“But people are ever-changing and as they go through their development as a person, you grow with them.

“I’m privileged to be able to influence players’ lives, and for the better I hope.

“I encourage them to move away from saying something because they think someone else wants to hear it.

“Instead, we increase the level of psychological safety so they can say things because they actually mean them.

“The truth sets you free: if you say something that is not the truth it will come back to bite you.

“Players will hang on to it and then the trust is broken.”

Home Advantage To Start

Sale do not have the worst start to the campaign with three of their first four matches at home.

Harlequins are first up and last season’s bottom two, Gloucester and Newcastle, travel to Salford after a second round trip for the Sharks to Saracens.

They won at the StoneX Stadium for the first time last May to seal their place in the play-offs.

It was the high watermark of a season which ignited late on.

Continuity should not be an issue in the coming campaign and with a crop of young players breaking through and South African muscle, last year’s ambition has not changed.