By Chris Chaplin
November 12 2003

Just a couple of months ago when previewing the home fixture against Sale which started the recent rot I observed that Tigers were in third place while Sale were dangerously close to the basement now just a handful of games later how things have changed.

I have watched Sale twice in the past couple of weeks firstly against London Irish and then Leeds, both strong scrummaging sides, yet the new revitalised and rejuvenated Sale eight took both packs on and largely matched or bested them.

What has been especially impressive is the speed and technique of the Sale rolling maul which has thus far been a potent weapon for the Cheshire side.

I thought, as I watched Sale convincingly beat Leeds, how the right man in the right place counts for so much and rarely has this been so true as in the case of Andrew Sheridan who when at Bristol was a decent enough player but that said that was all there was to say but since his arrival at Edgeley Park he’s looking a very good young player indeed and must surely be coming into reckoning for the England senior squad together with his front row colleague Titterell. Sale enjoy the enviable situation of having a seamless front row six-some that they can mix and match without it having a discernable effect on the cohesiveness of the whole. Young and dynamic I like the look of this front row.

If it has an Achilles heel then it’s when Yates is brought into play a player who just cannot seem to keep himself out of trouble, although at least he waited until the match was almost done before he disappeared to the Sin Bin last weekend. The lack of discipline that saw him in exile does not seem to have improved and he must soon be in line for a one match suspension as I think that his latest rest period was the third of this season.

With Chris Jones now seemingly having transformed into a regular #8 Scotland International Iain Fullarton has been joining local lad Dean Schofield in the second row and they add telling bulk to the all round athleticism of the Sale front five with the days of Sale rarely winning any lineout ball now very much a thing of the past.

This improved lineout performance is of course aided to no little extent by the continuing presence of Chris Jones providing three front line jumpers for either Cairns or Titterell to target.

Jones has been in trouble over his alleged part in the very serious injury to Chris Sheasby during the game against London Irish and with the matter still being investigated by the RFU it will be interesting to see if the young lock cum #8 plays on Saturday.

Skipper in the continued absence of the fiery Pete Anglesea, Alex Sanderson, has had a good season thus far and has impressed both in his loose play and work at the breakdown and while I have been a little disappointed with Australian and ex Randwick and Waratahs player Stuart Pinkerton of late he is in any event soon to depart the club with the fine ball carrying 33 time capped Scot Jason White now returned from Australia and who I expect to see take some part on Saturday. Even if he doesn’t start the Sale lineout and loose forwards look very strong.

While on the subject of World Cup returnees - Mighty Mouse is back - for my money still the best #9 in the premiership, Bryan Redpath is another who will surely play a part at Welford Road on Saturday. With Nick Walshe, a coverted fly-half, and young England U19s player Richard Wigglesworth having ably deputised the Sale faithful cannot have too many complaints but what a boost the return of the imaginative and creative ex Scotland skipper is sure to give the North Westerners.

Speaking of creativity Charlie Hodgson made his first start since his return from the injury sustained whilst playing for England in the Six Nations. His cameo appearance against Irish was halting but still generated a try producing pass of sublime vision and accuracy and then against Leeds, although starting steadily, he gradually came to his game and looked to be coming back to his usual majestic form.

Redpath and Hodgson - hmmm! When it comes to guile and creativity these two are surely Union’s Saatchi and Saatchi.

I thought when Braam van Straaten joined Sale “what’ll he do when Hodgson returns“, well now I know - use his prodigious boot to take some of the pressure off the talented Hodgson and leave him to concentrate on playmaking. Now without Redpath and Hodgson inside him van Straaten looks decidedly stodgy but the dynamic duo can put the strong running ex Springbok into space and of course this potentially releases Graeme Bond to cause the kind of havoc in which he specialises.

I know it’s boring and I know that my admiration for the ex Waratahs and ACT player is well documented but the superb Wallaby hasn’t put a foot wrong from what I’ve seen this season and Bond, Graeme Bond, is once again the danger man this weekend.

Against Leeds Mark Cueto looked to at last be coming back to his best, making the strong and incisive runs that saw him knocking on Mr Woodward’s door a while back, although answer came there none. Cueto’s partner in crime Steve Hanley is also looking on top of his game and between the two of them they can cut even the most doughty of defences to ribbons given the space.

With Billy The Whizz still occupied down under Sid Going’s nephew Vaughan continues to do the honours at full back. While he is certainly impressive going (no pun intended) forward he does adopt some strange defensive positions and takes unusual kicking options at times.

With their pack going well and now with the most dangerous back division in the premiership it looks a real challenge for the still severely weakened Tigers to prevail and progress further in the National Cup.

Having said that if the Tigers’ pack can perform as they did against Wasps last weekend then perhaps the need to starve the dangerous Sale backs and half-backs of ball will be achieved.

In securing a win after such a seeming eternity Tigers’ pack seemed to have at last shrugged off the malaise that had lately beset them and I was delighted the much improved performance that I saw in the second half at Bath a week earlier had been built on for the Wasps game.

Jim Richards certainly makes a big difference, his play is in the pugnacious Cockerill style and combines with good work at the lineout and in the loose. With at best only George Chuter and James Buckland as front line hookers following Dorian West’s decision to retire after the World Cup and Richards’ avowed wish to stay with Tigers I hope that Deano doesn’t let this one get away.

Morris was also far more assertive against Wasps so at last Rowntree was no longer alone in carrying the fight to the opposition front three, with Campbell proving to be a another valuable “loanee” the Tigers’ front five had the better of the Wasps pack all afternoon and if Campbell is looking for a berth and finances permit then the shortage of experience in the second row could well benefit from the Scot staying at Welford Road. Key on Saturday will be Tigers ability to stop the Sale rolling maul before it gets started and by so doing deprive the Edgeley Park team of one of their most valuable first strike weapons.

As far as the back rows are concerned Sanderson is a very real threat and even if Jones doesn’t play the attacking potential provided by Jason White cannot be under estimated.

Having said all that Josh is, to my mind at least, presenting as great a threat on the blind-side as he would were he playing where his shirt says he should and with Skinner’s speed the Sale half backs should have plenty to think about. I expect to see Dan Lyle at #8 and while this will be hard on the excellent Balding I think we’ll need the lineout presence of Dan against the potent Sale set up at this type of set piece.

I have already waxed lyrical here and on too many earlier occasions about the skills of Redpath but Ellis gave a good account of himself against that other master of the #9 shirt, Robert Howley, last weekend and I think that his service looked sharper as did his general demeanor and it was only two very tight calls from referee Ridiculous Rowden that denied him two tries. Harry also saved one certain Wasps try and then turned the save into attack – great stuff. All of which is just as well given the challenge that awaits Ellis this weekend.

Ramiro Pez looked pretty good with his boot although why he tried to drop goals when other less chancy options existed to keep the attacks going I failed to understand at the time and can only suspect that he was playing to orders to take anything that looked vaguely possible. He does not seem to have yet come to grips with the lack of time that exists in the premiership and some of his passes gave me palpitations as they flirted with interceptions from the Wasps’ backs who had been permitted to stand up off side all afternoon, with only the prospect of Roiser scoring from an interception finally galvanizing the officials into action.

The difficulty is of course that without Stimpson and without Geordan Ramiro represents the only credible threat as a front line kicker while Sale have an embarrassment of riches in that department. Let’s hope that to use a well worn euphemism “training goes well” this week for in Bond we have in front of us an arch ball stealer on the intercept.

Gibson continues to earn his corn - big time, but how wonderful it would be to see him in some space with support to press home an attack. I think he’ll get the better of van Straaten although Ollie will have a real challenge facing Bond and it’s going to be a hard one to call.

Until Saturday I’d rather forgotten how much I’ve missed Fred., his tackling is rather of the excrement or bust variety but he is nevertheless worth his weight in gold and when swatting off defenders on the charge he is priceless.

Saturday was the first time I’d seen much of Neil Baxter aside from his all too brief cameo at the Recreation Ground and I must say I liked what I saw. Not only lightening fast in attack but intelligent in defense, personified when he stood off a Wasps attacker and then used his speed and a superb take down once the pass (and what would otherwise have been a scoring pass) was made. Let’s hope he gets another start as I think the Sale back three may just find his speed a problem.

Full-back of course remains an area of concern. Oz acquitted himself well there against Wasps. Is there any back line position that he can’t play in? I was puzzled by the decision to play Oz at 15 but I guess that Deano was probably responding to a request from Woodward that Oz be given a game in the position that he was possibly going to have to fill for England.

With Oz having secured his Air Miles and enjoyed a quick trip around the World I wonder if he’ll be at 15 again – we could do worse – far worse.

Both Sale and Tigers will surely be taking the National Cup seriously this season providing as it does a way into Europe that may well be denied them elsewhere so who’ll go through?

As impressed as I’ve been with the Sale pack I think that if the Tigers eight performs as well as it did in overpowering Wasps and matching Bath in the second half at the Rec., then the dangerous Sale backs can be denied quality ball but the Tigers’ half backs must continue to improve the speed and accuracy of their service if Tigers are to prevail, which on balance I think they will and move forward to the next round.