Sale v Sharks: Five takeaways as Springboks-bereft Durbanites play with ‘pride and passion’ but Alex Sanderson’s charges make Masotti ‘eat his words’
Sale Sharks winger Tom O'Flaherty and an inset of Sharks head coach JP PIetersen.
Following Sale’s 26-10 victory over the Sharks, here are our five takeaways from the Investec Champions Cup clash at CorpAcq Stadium.
Top line
In the end, it is Durban Sharks owner Marco Masotti who was eating his words, and perhaps some tuna, as the South African outfit succumbed to Alex Sanderson’s charges on a cold night in Manchester.
Much of this game’s build-up was dominated by the words of the two respective club owners, and it’s the Orange family who leave the stadium in a more upbeat mood, but the Durbanites can take a lot of pride from their efforts.
Rising Sale star Rekeiti Ma’asi-White ran a sharp, incisive line to sneak through the Sharks’ defence and open the scoring, which gave Sale a slender 5-3 lead at half-time in what was a first 40 minutes that contained a litany of errors.
The lineout proved to be pivotal for the hosts as Bevan Rodd, who had a torrid time in the scrum against the returning Vincent Koch, bundled over the line before Tom O’Flaherty grabbed Sale’s third.
Manu Tshituka caught the hosting Sharks’ defence napping and skinned England fly-half George Ford before cantering away for what was the Durban side’s only try of the game. However, it was O’Flaherty who had the final say in the match as the man of the match kept his width and benefited from a frantic attack to jog over the line untouched.
The result secures a place in the Champions Cup round of 16 for the Sale Sharks, while the travelling Sharks will hope some results fall favourably as they lick their wounds and return to Durban, where they will host Clermont.
Sharks heart
Bereft of the big-name Springboks stars, the Sharks were given little chance, if any, of even putting a respectable score today, but JP Pietersen has made a concerted effort to hammer in the point of playing for the pride of the club, region and history of the Durban-based side, and that’s precisely what many of the players did. It’s worth remembering that the last time the Durbanites sent an understrength team to the UK in the Champions Cup, they were on the wrong end of a 56-17 hiding at the hands of Leicester.
Sure, they ended on the losing end of today’s result, but the interim head coach certainly knows that there are players who don the Sharks jersey with the same pride, passion, and desire as he did during his illustrious career as a truly world-class winger.
Skipper Nick Hatton is a prime example, as were his fellow back-rowers Tino Mavesere and Manu Tshituka, who scored a scrumptious try and got through a mountain of work. Pumas’ loanees Ross Braude and Eddie Swart have been sharp additions to the squad, and efforts should be made to make those deals permanent, as it’s not the first time that they have put in performances that warrant it.
Marnus Potgieter also put himself about well, though he did lack the execution at times, but is a player who, fitness permitting, can produce solid shifts.
Hakeem Kunene is highly thought of in Durban, and it’s easy to see why. He is unlikely to usurp Apehelele Fassi anytime soon, but the more minutes he gets, the more his confidence will improve and the fewer errors he will make.
Much is made of the plethora of high-profile Springboks superstars in this squad, but fronted with the challenge of a stacked Sale side, which featured five former Durban Sharks in the run-on side, boasting world-class talents of their own, it was the lesser-known men who stepped up to the plate and put in a performance that their head coach can work with going forward.
Sale Sharks struggles
A full-house of points today will certainly give Alex Sanderson’s men a skip in their step, but the fact of the matter is that they did what was expected of them. They played a second-string team and were fortunate enough to select pretty much their strongest side available, but were unable to really put them to the sword.
While Ford is a tactical genius, he lacked a cutting edge with the ball in hand today to really trouble the Sharks and often force the issue, putting his teammates under unnecessary pressure.
Without the excellent Tom Roebuck in the back-three, Sale didn’t dominate the aerial game as they usually do. Jacques Vermeulen’s early departure removed a relentless and powerful ball carrier, with Tom Curry and Ernst van Rhyn failing to really fill the void that he left.
Then there was the scrum, where James Harper was undone by Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, and Rodd was outclassed by Koch – who played his first game since October.
Again, it’s far from all doom and gloom as they collected five points in front of their home fans, and much of the credit must go to Nathan Jibulu, who was in the running for the man of the match award. The young hooker shone around the park in the absence of Luke Cowan-Dickie but was crucially accurate in the lineouts, the source of Sale’s success.
It’s plainly obvious that if Sale are to turn their season around, domestically and in the Champions Cup, that improvements are needed, but perhaps a hard-fought, ground-out victory against their namesake is the catalyst for just that.
A day defence coaches earned their paychecks
While the Bulls are licking their wounds, their fans would be looking on enviously at the astute, well-drilled and frankly competent defensive structures on display in Salford, which provided stark contrast to what transpired in Loftus earlier in the day.
Defence was optional in sunny Pretoria, but over in Manchester, it was a non-starter, particularly for the first half, as the two defences comfortably got the better of the attacks, forcing the errors. It took driving mauls and moments of sheer madness, and individual brilliance to finally find a loose brick in the wall.
It comes as no surprise that England and South Africa have taken an interest in the respective coaches, with Byron McGuigan, erroneously referred to as Byron Haywood on commentary, now splitting his duties with the former, while Joey Mongalo has been highly rated in SA circles for some time now and has worked with the A team. Two relatively young coaches, but ones who are certainly stamping their mark.
All eyes turn to StoneX
While Sale have secured a place in the knockout stages of the Champions Cup along with Glasgow Warriors, the remaining qualifying spots remain very much up for grabs ahead of Toulouse’s trip to the StoneX Stadium on Sunday.
Ugo Mola’s men are the tournament’s most successful club, but the Antoine Dupont-led side could well exit the competition in the pool stages if they do not step up against Saracens. Both sides sit on six points after two rounds and a bonus-point win will secure passage into the last-16.
The Sharks are a point back but host the pointless Clermont in Durban in the final round of pool matches next weekend. A victory there for Pietersen’s men, paired with back-to-back losses for one of Toulouse and Saracens, who face Sale and Glasgow, respectively, next weekend, could see the Durbanites claim an unlikely play-off spot. Alternatively, a run in the Challenge Cup could be on the cards, a tournament they have already won.
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