Sale need to find form – and it has to be now
ALEX Sanderson has every faith his Sale Sharks side can turn their season around tomorrow against Exeter Chiefs.
Sharks enter the game looking for their first win in six games and know another defeat will end their chances of Premiership glory this season.
But Sale’s director of rugby, Sanderson, knows it will not be easy to correct their campaign against the Chiefs.
He said: “They [Exeter] have scored the most tries, and they have scored the most points.
“We have to be smart in how we play.
“I am confident that we will find form. The stakes dictate that it has to be this weekend; we have got to find form this weekend.
“This group know they have got the abilities to step up and do this.”
Sale have built their success over recent seasons on their defence, but it has been leaky throughout this campaign.
And once again, it was a problem last week as they lost 42-24 at Bath, but Sanderson has focused on this throughout training this week.
I am confident that we will find form. The stakes dictate that it has to be this weekend Alex Sanderson
He said: “That was the one element of the game that was our superpower, and in the last few games, it has failed to be a superpower.
“You go in for those dominant tackles, and if you don’t get it quite right and your connections aren’t where they need to be, you saw what happened last weekend.
“I am confident we will find form with this group, as we have in the past with it.”
Fans will remember the trouncing the Sharks experienced earlier in the season as they were powerless to handle the Chiefs at Sandy Park in a 43-0 defeat.
And Sanderson sees this as a small motivator coming into the fixture at the AJ Bell Stadium tomorrow.
He said: “There are bigger things at stake by ways of what we want to get out of the season, and I think that is the over-riding motivation, and then you can lead into the personal battles and the dented pride and, to a lesser degree, the opportunity to put the record straight.”
And with Sale looking to close the gap to fourth-place Exeter, they will need all their key players available.
One player set to start in this key fixture is George Ford.
Sanderson said: “I’ve got to give him a rest in the next two weeks, and you can make your deductions if he is playing this weekend or against the Ospreys.”