Coach: Baby Sharks make big impression
BRIGGS PRAISES IMPACT MADE BY YOUNG PLAYERS IN CUP MATCH
ACADEMY coach Neil Briggs has praised the performances of some of Sale’s younger players.
After a heavy defeat to Worcester, the Sharks were trailing 12-3 to Saracens in the Premiership Rugby Cup clash at the AJ Bell on Friday.
However, they fought back well to earn a share of the spoils with tries from Paolo Odogwu and Will Cliff.
The result leaves Sale third in the Pool Two table after Worcester defeated Leicester 31-12, and still in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals ahead of the trip to take on the Tigers at Welford Road on Friday.
“We spoke about the kicking battle at half-time and how we were going to play in the right areas of the pitch and I thought we executed that really well,” Briggs said.
“We potentially had chances to nick it right at the end but on the whole they fronted up really well.
“The boys are a little bit gassed. They said there was some tough collisions and there were a lot of metres covered in that game.”
The result ended Saracens’ nine-match winning run this season, and they only salvaged a draw thanks to a late penalty from fly-half Max Malins.
The Sharks fly-half Kieran Wilkinson, who has stepped into the first-team due an injury to AJ MacGinty, again put in an excellent performance.
The 19-year-old impressed once again after bursting onto the scene in the European Challenge Cup games against Perpignan and Connacht last month.
And Briggs was pleased with the youngster’s efforts on Friday.
He said: “Kieran did really well, he’s a first-year senior academy lad starting in the first team for the Sharks and he’s taken it on himself really well to lead the team and he did some good stuff tonight.
“He’s still got a bit to learn and we’ll keep his feet firmly on the ground and he played well, but I thought all the boys dug in.”
The academy transition coach was also delighted with the impact of winger Arron Reed, who was instrumental in setting up Odogwu for the Sharks’ first try and was threatening with ball in hand throughout the game. Briggs said: “Reedy was good, he’s shown glimpses of that all throughout his time here and he came off really well tonight.
“He looked a real threat with the ball, defensively he was good and he’s worked really hard on that.”
Kieran’s still got a bit to learn and we’ll keep his feet firmly on the ground Neil Briggs