Will depleted Sharks still bite us?

By BrianC
February 2 2005

Next Sunday after a long period without a home game we play at the Madejski against third placed Sale Sharks. Our victory in the away fixture last October broke their at that stage unbeaten run and is generally regarded as our best result of the season thus far.

Arguably this game is more important for us than for our opponents next Sunday. We are now just over two thirds of the way through the season. Sale seem assured of a place in next years Heineken cup but, given Leicester's dominant position, do not now appear to have a shout of topping the league. Our own situation is somewhat more parlous. A bright start to the season has faded, whilst we are not yet in the relegation zone we are too close to it for comfort. Our chances of qualifying for the Heineken cup via our league position now appear slim.

So what are our chances on Sunday? It all depends I suppose on which London Irish team we see turning up on the day. Will it be the one that we know is capable of turning over any other in the premiership? Or the one, sadly much in evidence recently, that has been lacking up front and hence prone to being pushed all over the park? Opinion is divided over how well or badly the team is playing since our January break.

In our favour will be the fact that, due to Six Nations commitments, Sale will be missing key players most notably Jason Robinson, Mark Cueto and Charlie Hodgson. Head coach Phillipe Saint/Andre went on record this week as saying `Maybe we need to play a different type of rugby. Maybe we need to be less open.` If this is the case and Sale find themselves playing an off form London Irish team then this could well turn out to be a turgid match. The main concerns being voiced by Sale supporters at present concern weakness and lack of cover in the front row.

The weather forecast for Sunday is poor, let's hope that if the conditions are hostile we can for once defy convention and play the game we know our team are capable of.