A Rose by many other name…

It’s often said that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Well, apologies to anyone who suffers from a visual impairment like myself, but I have no qualms in saying that when it comes to matters relating to Sale Sharks, I’m as one-eyed as you can possibly get. Every decision that goes against my team rankles, every bad call I take as a personal affront. Yet, even though we came away from the Memorial Ground with 4 points and a new defensive Premiership record, I felt anything but regal. The journey back from any away match is never something to look forward to. Sure, when you win it can seem like your return leg up the motorway is swifter, buoyed by the satisfaction of a job well done. When you lose, well the trip home can take an eternity. Suffice it to say, the trip back from Bristol took a long time and that really sums up the feelings of those who trudged back up the M5 – yes, we were victorious, but sometimes, as I’ve said before, you can’t help but want more.

On paper you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a bit of a mismatch.  Fifteen men dressed in blue with a legion of international forwards, a backline to die for and a lofty league position against a team of yeomen languishing at the bottom of the pile  with a never-say-die attitude who work for each other as if their very lives depended on it. We all knew what the result would be, didn’t we? We’d all called it - Sale would cruise into overdrive and outmuscle and outclass a belligerent yet valiant Bristol side. The depth and breadth of the respective squads should’ve made the outcome inevitable – and yet it appeared that the game plan was simply ‘go out, and make sure you don’t lose.’ With a squad packed to the brim with talent and potential, wouldn’t it be refreshing if you sensed that there was sufficient confidence within the team for the coaches to just say – ‘right boys, you know you can do this: go out and win, just be positive and play to your strengths.’

Bristol, under Richard Hill, are a team who don’t like taking prisoners. Even without the injured Sidoli and with Roy Winters only making the bench, you knew as the game kicked off that Ward Smith, Budgett and Alfie To’oala would ensure that this was going to be a battle. Even with Ed Barnes playing out of position at 12, rather than his normal customary role at stand off, Bristol looked confident despite getting off to a poor Premiership start.

Bristol were immediately on the back foot from the kick off, knocking on one of McAlister’s trademark hanging kicks. From a Sale perspective, it’s refreshing to see that they no longer opt for the flat 20 yard punt, but are prepared to give the ball some air and chase after it. Granted, there’s a way to go before they’re challenging and winning clean ball from these restarts like they were doing in the Premiership winning season, but it’s good to see the intent there.

Sale were penalised by referee Rose - more of whom later - for not packing down straight. Jarvis cleared to touch from the ensuing penalty, taking play to just outside the Sale 22. Sambucetti took the uncontested line out and Beveridge fed the ball out to Barnes who cut back inside towards the Sale flank. He didn’t make too much progress as he was given the traditional Welsh hello, as Lee Thomas smashed him to ground forcing the penalty as Barnes held on. If what happened next is a sign of things to come, then there are reasons to be cheerful in the coming weeks. Peel opted for the quick tap as the Bristol defence retreated expecting a Hodgson punt down the park. He made a full 40 yards taking the ball deep into the Bristol 10 metre area, supported by Tait and Lamont. Spud took the popped pass from Peel and sprinted towards the corner. Although Arscott flew across to cover, it looked a nailed-on score – all Tait had to do was step back inside as the Bristol full back’s momentum meant he couldn’t readjust his centre of gravity. Spud chose instead to pass the ball out to Rory. Arscott made to intercept and knocked the ball and Lamont into touch, snuffing out what had been a very promising move.

From a distance it almost looked like a deliberate knock on from the Bristol full back. Mr Rose didn’t see it that way, however, and gave the line out to the home side. Sale fans weren’t best pleased, but in truth it was one of the few decisions that went against them all night. Every pantomime needs a villain it seems. Two seasons ago it was Jason Robinson for his deliberate pull back on David Lemi. This year it was David Rose. Howls of derision greeted most of his decisions. Who said a rose always smells sweet? Had I been a neutral, let alone a Bristolian I would’ve shared some of that displeasure. Sale definitely for once got the rub of the green with the officials. Granted, it makes a change, and whether this had any ultimate bearing on the course of the match is debatable, but I don’t expect Rosey’s in line for many free ciders for a while down there.    

Although the momentum was undoubtedly with the visitors in the first quarter, they weren’t able to generate many attacking threats. The intent was definitely there. Sale took the opportunity to run the ball whenever the chance arose and in the light of the last couple of matches with the policy of kicking away possession, that in itself was refreshing. Having said that, the Sharks were still guilty of punting the ball away at times, though they did at least manage to retain the ball better than they have been doing, stringing together multiple phases of play without creating that killer opening. What was needed was a bit of luck, something that might tip the balance in their favour. Fortunately it arrived courtesy of the officials.

Another offence at the set piece was called by Rosey – he saw the collapse of the scrum as being solely down to tight head Jason Hobson. From our view in the stands it seemed more than a little harsh as Big Ted had slipped his binding. Bristol fans were suitable aggrieved as they probably saw the same thing we did. Barnes was obviously annoyed at the call and refused to release the ball to Peel, finally kicking away the ball in frustration. Anyone who’s seen David Rose officiate knows that he’s not shy when it comes to dealing the cards. Barnes got 10 minutes for his petulance. Was it an unfair call? Probably, but like Laurie Lee, I’m siding with Rosey.  By the way David, did I mention the cheque’s in the post? Only joking – I’m strictly a cash in brown envelope sort of guy: you know the drill, knock 3 times and ask for Louis.

Every Bristol cloud has a silver lining if you’re a Sale fan. You sensed the one man advantage was exactly what the Sharks needed at that time. McAlister converted fro around 40 metres with a sweet kick and you sensed they would kick on from there and grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Bristol though play with heart and passion: so much so that you would barely have noticed the absence of their player. Ward Smith and To’oala upped their game and actually started to take play to Sale. Granted the cutting edge wasn’t there, but they began to move the ball around and refused to let Sale pin them in their own 22. This increase in tempo seemed to unnerve the visitors and more and more errors began to creep into the Sale game, whether that be knock ons,  or spilling the ball in contact. The Sharks began to look jittery and started to revert to type, hoofing the ball up field.

Peel’s passes, which had until then fizzed from the base of the scrum, started to go a little wayward, either falling behind advancing attacking backs on the flanks or one horrible occasion looping high over Charlie’s head forcing the stand off to scurry back into his own 22 and kick out on the full. Damn those ELVs. The line out, unlike the scrum, had, until that point, functioned effectively without producing quick, clean open field ball, began to stutter as well: the percentage ball to Jonah at 2 or 3 was jettisoned in favour of the longer throw to Chabal or Ormsby at the tail. Bristol were wise to this and dealt with it efficiently.   

Although the penalty count was definitely in the visitors favour, the exerted Bristol pressure started to tell, forcing the Sharks into unforced errors. Rosey may have missed the high tackle on the dangerous Lemi, much to the further annoyance of the home fans, but he didn’t miss Bruno straying offside effectively killing the move just outside his own 10 metre line after Neil Brew, Ward Smith and To’oala had stormed up the field dragging a couple of desperate defenders with them. Should that have been a card too? Well, probably if you’re going to be consistent. The lively Graeme Beveridge took a quick tap and darted over by the posts only for Rosey to call it back for taking it from the wrong spot. Marginal wasn’t really in it – it was a harsh call and just fanned the flames of discontent in the Bristol support. Even a Jarvis penalty levelling the scores could do little to quell this sense of injustice.

Bristol returned for the second half, replacing Jarvis with Barden, moving Barnes to fly half. Whatever Richard Hill said to his team at the break seemed to do the trick for they had the majority of play in the third quarter. For all the possession though, Bristol didn’t have the cutting edge. Beveridge and the Arscott brothers saw plenty of the ball but were powerless when it came to breaching the resolute and powerful Sale defence. Wave after wave of Bristol attacks were repelled with clinical efficiency. Defence though, whilst it might save a game, won’t necessarily win it for you. Against a team like Gloucester, let alone Clermont and Munster, Sale will definitely need a little more grunt and go forward. You can’t always rely on penalties and friendly officialdom for points, though McAlister was able to keep the score ticking along with 2 further beautifully struck long range penalties.

In spite of these the momentum remained with the West Country boys. They may have struggled in their two previous Premiership matches but, if they continue to play with the same sort of passion and aggression, you sense they’ll turn one or two teams over before too long. But for desperate Sale defence they could well have crossed the whitewash on a couple of occasions. Little came back from the Sharks save for a chip and chase from Chabal which was stymied by Hobson and a neat little cross field kick from Charlie to Cueto in acres of space on the flanks. Sadly there was just too much pace on the chip and the ball and Cueto went into touch.

Bristol were throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the Sharks and the casualties started to mount. Abraham was the first to depart with a nasty gash above the eye. He was replaced by Briggsy at openside. Jason White made a timely return replacing Schoey with Ormsby moving to the donkey row and Jonah was replaced by Coxy after taking a knock to the knee. This disruption took its toll. Sale barely had time to re-organise their defence when they were pinged by Rosey for going off their feet. Barden converted and suddenly from a Bristol point of view the game seemed to be back on.

In the final quarter the game began to become increasingly ragged, not just because of fatigue but also excessive use of the whistle by the officials. Bristol continued to try and run the ball, whereas Sale reverted to the up your jumper tactic without really making any headway. The home side had the opportunity to level the scores with 4 minutes remaining after Sale were once again punished for an infringement at the ruck. Had Barnes been able to take the chance, the parity in the score line would’ve undoubtedly been deserved. On the balance of play Bristol deserved at least a draw, but unfortunately for them it just wasn’t their night.

In the dying moments Barden kicked out on the full from just outside his own 22. Briggsy’s throw to the back of the line was gathered by Seabass and the forwards rumbled into gear, picking and driving their way slowly towards the Bristol line. It looked as if power would eventually determine the ultimate outcome as Sale got closer and closer to the whitewash. Bristol were penalised by Rosey for wheeling the scrum and Sale got the penalty that their forward play had arguably deserved. With only seconds to go Sale retreated: McAlister looked to be taking up a position to kick the penalty and see out the game. There wasn’t anything to be gained from another 3 points, but as long as you’ve got hold of the ball, the other lot can’t score, can they?

Seabass had other ideas and opted for the quick tap and go. Judging from the lack of support he received, it’s probably more than an educated guess to say that his team mates weren’t necessarily expecting it. Obviously with no support he hung on to the ball for grim death, but was penalised as you’d expect. The last thing you’d ever want with a score line so close is to gift the ball to the opposition, but that’s what happened. Fortunately there was neither time nor, you suspect, an inclination on the Bristol part to race 60 metres up the park at that late stage – better to settle for a much improved performance and a losing bonus point.

So that’s another win, the second away from home and a 100 percent record. I think everyone would’ve settled for that. None the less, it is a little worrying that we’re struggling to score tries. Philippe Saint Andre said after the game that he was pleased with the 4 points, but disappointed with the performance. He also promised tries next week. Let’s hope that’s true - against a team like Gloucester, we’re going to need them. The talent is obviously there and possibly the structures too, yet there seems to be a lack of confidence and willingness to throw caution to the wind and go for it. When you look at our backline and the quality on offer, you’ve got to wonder why they seem so reluctant to back themselves. Other teams would sell the family silver to get what we’ve got. So then, what’s the problem? Answers on a postcard please….

Visit Joe's blog at http://joe90column.blogspot.com/

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