"The challenge of coming over here" – Alex Sanderson: Sale Sharks boss relishing Champions Cup away day against Cape Town Stormers
Today at 04:05 AM
A unique challenge posed by the Champions Cup is the recent addition of South African teams to the European competition. Sale Sharks head to Cape Town to face DHL Stormers in a game which is a must-win for both sides in their quest for a top two spot in Pool D, which would give them a home tie in the round of 16.
Instead of focusing on the logistical challenges that travelling across hemispheres has, Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson was upbeat about the situation, even if some of his players and staff were unable to train on their first day due to a delayed flight.
"The challenge of coming over here, like it’s just what it is, it’s a challenge.
"I personally revel in a bit of stress, you find more about yourself and the team and in a group of players when you have to travel and you get less sleep and less prep time.
"But also it gives you an opportunity to bond and get tighter. Which is how we’re going to judge our success this week, both of those things."
Sanderson spoke about the importance of the fixture as well as the impact of having players in his squad who will be playing in their native country:
"The guarantee is getting through. But we’re serious about this competition because of the structure of the season that allows us to be.
"We've got lots of South Africans who will be involved and for them it is more than just a competition.
"There’s pride at stake, bragging rights and to some degree, some of them have been overlooked on a national scale here. They’ve got points to prove in front of families.
"There’s loads of stuff to go for isn’t there?"
Rob du Preez has got only one solitary cap for the Springboks but is one of the key men for the Sharks, having recently found himself moved to centre in a seemingly permanent move.
His versatility, being able to play fly-half and fullback as well, means that he has cemented himself as a permanent fixture in the XV for Sale, which culminated in him breaking the record for consecutive Premiership starts against Bristol Bears, with the game at Ashton Gate marking his 64th uninterrupted admission as a starter.
Talking about this record, his boss said:
"It says he’s robust, dependable and genuinely the first name on the team sheet, that’s saying something with the calibre of lads we’ve got.
"He doesn’t care where he plays as long as he plays. Because his skill set means we have the ability to pay him in new position, 10, 12 or 13 and that’s something else that’s led to his number of consecutive performances.
"You talk to players and every now and again, you can see their eyes that they tired or they need a break, and they do, we put plans around all of our lads and sort of periodisation of playing time and it’s never even a question for Rob.
"He’s always up for the fight, which is saying something, and this is a representation not just of his skill, but more of the person the character he is, to go and go again.
"Great players do. He is a great player."
There is a huge cultural difference in the way rugby is viewed in England compared to South Africa, Sanderson spoke about this difference and about the threat that Stormers are going to pose:
"In Manchester so much is about football and we are a second-class sport to speak of .
"I think they (South African teams) bring a different slant on how you can play the game, with all those things that you said about which are all the things that we value as a club, so that physicality in there, the set pieces is great and in particular with the Stormers, they are an opportunist team on transition."
A recent 38-0 domination of Bristol was followed up with a disappointing defeat to Gloucester, suggesting that consistency is an issue that Sale face, their DoR addressed this:
"That is the holy grail and in particular my challenge with this group and the challenge for the group to get that consistent intensity, pride in the line week to week. Seemingly at the moment we’re not quite there.
"Obviously because a week after, we probably had a foot in Bristol in a foot in South Africa and weren’t as intense.
"We didn’t have as much aggression and you can just hear it in the language in the weak as what we did the week before, so it’s reigning that and I don’t mean by raining it in, I mean strapping some reigns on it and riding that intensity that we are striving for as a group this season."
George Ford remains unavailable for “Another week” according to Alex, but is running well in training, with Raffi Quirke out for the same amount of time with a low grade quad issue.
The post "The challenge of coming over here" – Alex Sanderson: Sale Sharks boss relishing Champions Cup away day against Cape Town Stormers appeared first on Ruck.
