Come Sale Away - Sale Match Preview

Goddammit !
By Griff
February 22 2007

Iiiiiiii'mmmm Sailing awaaaaaaayyyyy, Set an open course for the virgin seas. I've got to be free, free to face the life that's ahead of me.

Yes, Come Sale Away by Styx - made famous by Eric Cartman in South Park - ushers us to our annual trip to Edgley Park. It has been a happy hunting ground for us in the past. One of my favourite away memories is of the face of a child in front of us at Stockport that had chosen to gloat when the home-team went ahead late in the game, only to be told by JoeV to keep watching the green number 10 - Barry dropped the goal, child left having learned a valuable lesson. Never count the Irish out...

Many are counting us out - I've certainly felt a bit negative about our form but going into this game we have the opportunity to accelerate into the end of the season and make good another HC place for next year. We also have the chance to drop horribly into the end-of-season bottom-of-the-table shenanigans. To go in the positive direction we only have to beat last season's GP winners!

Sale have had a terrible season by their own recent standards. Losing multiple players to the money-making meat-grinder of the Autumn Internationals was a hard blow - especially when one of them was their talismanic fly-half Charlie Hodgson. Since that point they've not exactly been in free-fall but they've struggled in matches you'd expect them to walk through.

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the Sharks, though. A few of their walking-wounded are back, including man-mountain Andrew Sheridan who will always make a difference. Luckily for us he's only just back and only makes the bench.

Irish come to the game from a good home win against Bath. The second half wasn't exactly exciting but the boys did a fine job of setting up a win and then holding-on to it - a rarity in my experience of the Exiles. Brian Smith wanted to keep the winning team together but, with Jonny Wilkinson having a tight hamsting in training, Mike Catt has been called across the Irish sea to cover in the England squad. In theory, if he doesn't get selected he could simply come back and meet the lads in Stockport but I can't see Ashton doing us any favours - the Friday kick-off isn't helping us.

If there was ever a time to be playing Sale it has been recently, their injuries have left them "beatable" but you don't become a bad side and there's plenty of experience in there - this could be their resurgence.

Last season's trip to the North West was a lesson for our lads - we got mullered 29 - 3. Their visit to us that season was supposed to be our day (St Pat's) but the Sharks put in a dogged effort to squeeze past us at the end of the game and dampen and already damp party.

This time around Sale came to us and showed what a class act they are - an awe-inspiring performance left us on the wrong side of 14 - 31. This was, however, before the Autumn games left them rudderless and open to surprise defeats.

We can win this. Dare I say, we should win this ? If we fancy ourselves for a top 6 spot we have to win it. It'd still be a big scalp, though.

Sale:


Mark Cueto (Captain), Chris Mayor, Mark Taylor, Chris Bell, Ben Foden, Lee Thomas, Richard Wigglesworth, Eifion Roberts, Sebastien Bruno, Ben Evans, Chris Day, Dean Schofield, Chris Jones, Andrew Titterrell, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe

Replacements: Neil Briggs, Andrew Sheridan, Stuart Turner/Barry Stewart, Sean Cox, Michael Hills, Andy Vilk/Steve Hanley/Elvis Seveali’I, David Blair


Irish:


Delon Armitage, Topsy Ojo, Seilala Mapusua*, Mike Catt* (captain), Sailosi Tagicakibau* ,Shane Geraghty, Paul Hodgson, Tonga Lea'aetoa, Danie Coetzee, Faan Rautenbach, Nick Kennedy, Bob Casey, Kieran Roche, Steffon Armitage, Phil Murphy*

Replacements : Neal Hatley, Robbie Russell*, James Hudson, Juan Leguizamon*, Olivier Magne*, Riki Flutey, Barry Everitt

* Denotes international

Altogether now! Come Sale away, come Sale away, come Sale away with meeeeee !