By Easyman
November 10 2004

England nick five of our players, France take one and Scotland another. And we have to take on Bath at the Rec. Easyman ponders the effect that international call-ups might have on this game, and whether we could still be sitting pretty come Saturday evening.

Crunch time! Three tough games; 15 points on offer for the three matches; we want all of them. However, with up to eight top players missing this is the challenge the remaining members of the squad face. A daunting problem and to complicate matters we will lose two hookers and two outside halves. Bath, Quins, and Gloucester.

What are the prospects at Bath, the first of the two away fixtures? Would-be selectors have already suggested their teams, and for once there is a high level of agreement. So who would you choose?

Full back – Taumulolo (if fit), Moore or Mayor, Hoyle (if match fit)
Centres – Todd, CR Jones, Josh, Mayor.
Wings – Mayor, Moore, Foden.
Halfbacks – Hercus, Redpath, Martens.
Props – Turner, Stewart, and Halsall (thin)
Hookers – Roddam and Dowridge (Jets)
Locks – Schofield, Day, Caillet
Back row – Jones, Lund, and, Chabel

Bench – any non selection plus a raft of back row players not least being Pete Anglesea plus a scrum half, a hooker, and a back.

So many players involved in internationals is a new experience for Sale but such is the greater depth of our squad this year that we can produce a team to really take up the challenge.

Bath too have their problems with Mike Tindell, Danny  Grewcock, and Steve Borthwick also donning white on Saturday plus a whole raft of injuries which include Best, Perry, Maddock, Fleck, Higgins, Beattie, and Delve. One player who will be involved is Duncan Bell who seems to have achieved notoriety recently with standing up in the scrum against Leicester. One bright spot however was the debut of  Frikke Welsh, the Blue Bulls centre who ran in two tries against London Sale.

The Rec. has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for Sale in the past though they have had their moments. The ground can be heavy after prolonged rain which would not suit our style of play. However I believe the weather forecast for Saturday is good and I am looking forward to revisiting Bath again.

Because both teams have lost numbers of first team players I expect the game to be a close one with the first forecast being a win by 5 for Bath. We have shown this season that we can win away from home and I would suggest we are in with a very good “shout. The squad has shown its mettle when stepping up for the challenge and I don’t suspect this match will be different.