Big chance to build on a record-breaking display
WE’RE enjoying a promising domestic season at Sale Sharks and now we’re eyeing up a run in Europe after a record-breaking performance against Scarlets on Sunday.
Travelling to South Wales for a Heineken Champions Cup clash, the boys recorded a club-record highest ever European score, with AJ MacGinty scoring 32 points, breaking Charlie Hodgson’s record for a European game, set in 2006.
It was brilliant to see the best of Sharks on the field, from Akker van der Merwe earning man of the match, to academy product Raffi Quirke scoring his first ever Sale try.
Now, a trip to France awaits against La Rochelle for our first European last eight tie for 15 years. It’s going to be tough against their roster of world-class players.
As a club we’ve made a fantastic amount of progress in a short amount of time under Alex Sanderson. Since joining as Director of Rugby, he’s built on our foundations to create a brilliant atmosphere at our Carrington training complex, and it’s clearly working.
Sitting in third place and having beaten the two teams above us, Sharks fans have every reason to be excited.
There’s lots of players out there who will be starting to think about the British & Irish Lions tour in South Africa this summer.
We already know there will be a strong Sharks presence, with the likes of Faf De Klerk and Cobus Wiese bound to form a key part of the Springboks squad. For the Lions, there will be plenty of quality to choose from, with the likes of Tom Curry looking set for a place.
Off the pitch, thanks to our longrunning sponsors Printerland, our Sharks Community Trust has been making a difference for students local to Manchester with additional needs. They’ve been delivering wheelchair tag rugby sessions to Edgerton High School in Trafford.