Sale Sharks Serve Up Thriller for First Game

Jason Robinson
By CheadleEnder
September 15 2003

A record 8,105 people turned up at Sale Sharks new Edgeley Park home on Friday night for Sale Sharks first game of the new Zurich Premiership season.

A record 8,105 people turned up at Edgeley Park on Friday night for Sale Sharks first game of the new Zurich Premiership season. They were treated to a fast-paced, edge-of-the-seat thriller.  In the first half Northampton Saints pulled away to a substantial lead that had many Sharks fans despairing at a half-time score that saw their team down 8-20. A storming second half with tries from Steve Hanley (2), Andrew Sheridan, Alex Sanderson and Matt Cairns brought the Sharks a 10 point lead (37-27) only to be denied in injury time by a converted try and a penalty goal from the boot of the excellent Shane Drahm.

A junior roving reporter who chose the railway end for this match reported that the noise from the Cheadle Stand was 'awesome'

In a wonderful article by Stuart Brennan in Saturday's Manchester evening news (sorry no link as I can't find an online copy) he says " And Sale even managed to continue a long-standing County tradition by snatching a draw from the jaws of victory". He also claims that a rumour had gone around the ground that  the reason for the delayed kick-off was because "22 hulking Northampton players had become wedged in the tiny away dressing room" rather than the more prosaic crash on the M60.

The Shop attracted huge queues as Jason Robinson was signing copies of his autobiography - Finding My Feet. As always he had a welcome for everyone, and handshake and a smile for those of us who took the opportunity to grab a photo of the occasion. The book is an excellent read and I can recommend it to any of you who have not yet got your hands on a copy.

We then made our way to the Sapphire Bar where we got a cold Guinness for him and a very tasty, cold white wine for me. We shared a table with a couple of Saints fans who had managed to find their way there.  They were very impressed by the facilities and said they would definitely make the trip back again.

After the game we decided to check out the Pavillion. A good crowd assembled and live music was provided.

Unfortunately Rob didn't offer me nearly enough money when he asked that I not put up the picture of him with a pint in his hand - although he did say he was only holding it for a friend!

Altogether an excellent night out!