Sharks are looking up

JOSH Beaumont is relishing Sale’s return to Gallagher Premiership action next weekend against Northampton Saints.

The Sharks have not played a league game since beating Saracens 24-18 back in early January, but now face a crucial period in their season as they look to secure a top-four finish.

Beaumont, who has recently signed a new contract with the club, is excited about getting back to playing on a regular basis following a stop-start month of rugby.

“It’s always nice to have a weekend off, but I think the guys are just itching to get back into the routine now,” he said.

“It’s tight up there but we are not looking down anymore, we are looking up and aiming towards that top four now.

“It’s obviously a very tight league. We were languishing at the bottom of the table, so it was important to get at least two out of three wins in the last block of games. We managed to get three to really propel us up the table.

“We’ve known the quality of the squad, and we have shown glimpses of that throughout the season, but not consistently enough. We found a bit of momentum in the last three league which we need to take into the next four games.”

Since their last Premiership outing, the Sharks have qualified for the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup but did lose to Newcastle in the Premiership Rugby Cup.