By sue_b's old man
October 15 2003

When my mate Doug from Rotherham heard that his team had missed promotion two seasons ago (for the minor reason that their ground was the more windswept half of Yorskshire's most exposed cricket pitch), he was spitting blood.

Now, two seasons on, in the Premiership by a hung vote, and in a new shared soccer stadium, they haven't won a game. That they sold half the team that won National League One two seasons running may be a contributing factor, and something I still find puzzling. Doug must need a transfusion by now.

Meanwhile, Sale, having finally moved from one of Cheshire's cosiest and secluded grounds into a shared soccer stadium, haven't won a game - at home. Fans don't know whether to spit blood, blame injuries, the World Cup, or what. Rotherham must feel this is their chance.

In Rotherham's favour is that they are more familiar with their new surroundings, having won all season there last year. Against Rotherham is the fact that they have lost badly at home this year, saving their best results for the early away games at Gloucester and Leeds, until they came a serious cropper against the unbeaten Bath last Saturday. Their shortcomings? Not really for me to say, but their own fans point to a lack of pace , difficulties in the set piece, and the problem of trying to step up to the Premiership grade. Rotherham have taken the relegation-threatened mantle from Leeds, who for two seasons held it after being promoted themselves.

Sale seem in some disarray this year. One win from 5, no wins at home, injuries to Pete, Charlie, Dan, Jos, Phil Davies, Christian Day, and Jason x2 and Brian at the World Cup - in trouble you might say. But analyse the results - a narrow loss against Bath (league leaders), a narrow loss against Wasps (only one point ahead of us but competitive with Bath the previous week), a draw against Northampton (pre-season title favourites), a narrow loss against Newcastle (where we always lose even if we are from Albania) and A WIN AT LEICESTER.

Looked at a different way, you could say Sale are only slightly off the pace. Of course, this is enough to lose everything, but it also means that only a little is needed to turn it around. And what is needed to turn it around - not really for me to say, but I will anyway.

Evidence - How many tries have Stan and Frank scored.

Reason . The pack has much more potential than last year, with Cairns and Sheridan adding hugely to what was always an underrated front five. BUT, while the team are getting unexpected plaudits for forward play, we are not winning clean ball at rucks and mauls. The slow ball means the backs are static, and if it is not turned over, we have no momentum to beat the opposition defence.

Result - the ball doesn't go wide often as no space has been created for wingers. Opposition defences are in our faces and there are turnovers. The best that can happen is to score tries through the forwards or the centres. The worst is long periods without the ball, conceding points.

For Rotherham to beat Sale, they will need to perform better than they have - which is possible. For Sale to beat Rotherham - if we are short of players who can clear out quickly or put pace on the ball, then we should concentrate on forward power. However, I would like to see Sale create the opportunities like last season, and maybe this set of players can.

Going to Rotherham was a friendly, if homespun, occasion in previous years. Sale have never played at Millmoor, so both team and fans are in for a new experience. However, Edgley Park should have prepared us on what to expect – nice ground, but not like the old days (fortunately, in Rotherham’s case).