By Chris Wearmouth
December 23 2005

Welcome to the holiday season: a time for optimism, family joy and getting stuck on traffic jams on the M6 on a dark Boxing Day evening.

I am, of course, referring to this coming Monday’s trip to Stockport County’s Edgeley Park where on our return to the Guinness Premiership we will take on the Sale Sharks. At least on our way home those of us lucky to be travelling on one coach or another will have the consolation of a film or two.

 

At this point I should warn people that while Christmas warms the cockles of my soul, this preview is likely to make those of you less naturally smiley descend even further into your gloom. For Sale are the leaders of the Premiership, unbeaten in the Heineken Cup, and we’re heading up there with a team that at best is patchwork, at worst adolescent.

 

Let’s begin with who won’t be making the trip. Our immediate injury list would grace an international ‘Who’s Who’ – Carlos Spencer (hand) and David Quinlan (hamstring) have been joined by Steve Thompson (heavy leg bruising), Ben Cohen (who fractured a cheekbone against Narbonne and will be out for at least three weeks) and Sean Lamont (who failed a Friday fitness test on his ankle). But when added to our long-term absences Seamus Mallon, Geoff Appleford, Neil Starling, Ben Jones (whose return to full training this week came too late for him to be considered), Selborne Boome and Simon Emms, it becomes nothing short of a crisis.

 

Indeed, this only became clear to me on Friday lunchtime while skimming through the squad, because only then did the bareness of our cupboard become apparent.

 

Here is the side named by BudgenGrase this afternoon.

 

15 Bruce Reihana (capt)

14 John Rudd

13 Jon Clarke

12 Rhodri Davies

11 Paul Diggin

10 Luke Myring

9 Johnny Howard

1 Tom Smith

2 Dan Richmond

3 Pat Barnard

4 Damien Browne

5 David Gerard

6 Ben Lewitt

7 Darren Fox

8 Daniel Browne

 

With replacements from:

Dylan Hartley, Chris Budgen, Colin Noon, Matt Lord, Alex Rae, Mark Easter, Sam Harding, Grant Seely, Mark Robinson and Andy Vilk.

 

There are a few positives however. Smith and Davies have shrugged aside their injuries enough to play and Barnard will only have benefited from his two weeks off. Myring and Howard both showed good form in the south of France, and Lewitt has been a revelation at six. Richmond never lets the side down and Gerard is beginning to show the fruits of having played regularly for a while. Finally, Vilk has returned from England Sevens duty, and Diggin returns to the venue where he acquitted himself so well on his full debut last season.

 

On the downside the backline (including Reihana) has an average age just shy of 23-and-a-half, and the replacements bench is likely to have only two recognised backs – Robinson and Vilk. Be prepared therefore to see either Harding or Lewitt have to play out wide if the injury curse strikes once more.

 

The Premiership is hard enough when you have such problems. It becomes harder still when you’re next game is away at the league leaders.

 

Sale have been sensational this season, having found a sizzling combination of forward strength and backline firepower that has taken them to the top of English and European rugby. Like us their rosta contains players who would grace any side in the world: Charlie Hodgson, Mark Cueto, Jason Robinson, Sebastien Chabal, Andrew Sheridan – that’s just off the top of my head. The difference is that Sale’s stars are available – ours aren’t.

 

Having said that, at the time of writing Philippe Saint Andre had resisted from demoralizing us further by naming his side that will undoubtedly contain all of the above and quite a few more. As a guide here’s the side that started their last match, a home demolition of Castres.

 

15 Daniel Larrechea

14 Mark Cueto

13 Mark Taylor

12 Elvis Sevealai’i

11 Jason Robinson

10 Charlie Hodgson

9 Sililo Martens

1 Andrew Sheridan

2 Sebastien Bruno

3 Stuart Turner

4 Chris Jones

5 Dean Schofield

6 Jason White

7 Magnus Lund

8 Sebastien Chabal

 

Replacements:

16 Andy Titterrell

17 Barry Stewart

18 Ben Coutts

19 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe

20 Nathan Bonner Evans

21 Robert Todd

22 Valentin Courrent

 

On the surface it would appear that we don’t stand a chance. The Sharks’ only league defeats this season have come away from Stockport against Gloucester and Bristol, both of whom it would be fair to say had more front-line players available to them than we will have on Monday.

 

However, we come into the game on the back of two wins against Narbonne, the second of which came courtesy of a true team effort that would have done wonders for the squad’s esteem.

 

But if that game required a solid and controlled performance, to get anything out of Monday will require a feat nothing short of Herculean. If we get a losing bonus point it will be a fantastic outcome.

 

But I wouldn’t hold my breath.

 

Oh, and a Merry Christmas to one and all!