The Offload: Alex Sanderson takes plenty of positives from Sale’s display

Alex Sanderson didn’t take kindly to a headline in an Irish newspaper that suggested ‘Leinster to eat toothless Sharks,’ according to TNT touchline reporter and interviewer Sonja McLaughlan, who tweeted that when the Manchester club’s head coach was apprised of it, he said that ‘we’ll ram that down their throats’.

They didn’t quite manage to do that, but Sale did acquit themselves very capably for the first half an hour and last five minutes of a Champions Cup match in which they travelled without several frontline players. The Manchester club scored three tries in 37-27 defeat.

Sanderson, speaking to Rugbypass’s Liam Heagney after the game, said. “I am proud of how they went at Leinster, despite the doubters. We really attacked them, and I thought we rattled them in that first half.

“We gave them too much territory and possession in the second half and a 1,000-cap international side, which they are, are going to score points. We came back again which shows the resilience of the group.

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Sanderson paid tribute to the intrinsic qualities of his team that have nothing to do with the technical or tactical side of rugby.

“When you look back at the territory and possession, we were dominated in a lot of areas there.

“Certainly, the momentum of that second half went away from us but if you were to judge us on competitiveness, grit, resilience and just not giving an inch in the game, these are intangible things, I think we went toe to toe with a 1,000-cap international side. That I am very grateful for; the rest we can build, can coach.

“There is a lot of growth in that side, probably a bit more than they have in theirs. I am encouraged by that as well.”

Beirne and Crowley impress despite Munster defeat

It was a remarkable Champions Cup encounter in Sandy Park with Munster suffering the heartbreak of leading 24-13 only to lose, 32-24, one of Exeter Chiefs’ late tries included a superbly athletic finish from Leinster old boy, Jack Dunne.

While Munster won’t see much consolation in the immediate aftermath, two performances stood out; captain Tadhg Beirne was a colossus and didn’t deserve to be on the losing side. He twice thwarted Exeter denying them tries with some brilliant goal-line defence to complement the other qualities of his game.

In the race to succeed Johnny Sexton in the Ireland 10 jersey, Jack Crowley advanced his cause. A couple of picked off passes notwithstanding the variety to his play, clever diagonal kicking, distribution and running were the perfect foil for a threequarter line that excelled individually and collectively.

RDS reunion for Springboks Jenkins and Du Preez

There was a reunion of sorts at the RDS for a couple of players who previously shared a landmark moment in their respective rugby careers. Sale Sharks outhalf Robert du Preez and Leinster secondrow Jason Jenkins make their South African debuts on the same day, a Test match against Wales in 2018.

The game took place in the USA at the Robert Kennedy stadium in Washington with both players starting. Jenkins played for 66 minutes, Du Preez for 72 in a match that Wales won 22-20. What makes the occasion a little more bittersweet is that neither player has won another cap for the Springboks since that day.

On a tangential note, and speaking of international rugby, Sale Sharks scrumhalf Raffi Quirke, who had a fine game for his team in the Champions Cup defeat to Leinster at the weekend, including a gorgeous grubber kick for Sale’s first try, won the last of two England caps in November 2021 in scoring the winning try against the Springboks.

Quirke, who played age grade rugby for England and hasn’t played for the senior side since, could have lined out for Ireland as his mother, Patricia, played hockey for Ulster.

Word of Mouth

“I’m frustrated. Ulster attacked very well, we lacked rigour and consistency. We were unable to capitalise on four or five chances that we should have scored. We also failed to make the right decisions in critical moments of the match.” Racing 92 head coach Stuart Lancaster after the defeat to Ulster in Belfast.

By the Numbers: 36

Connacht set a new point-scoring record for a game in England but were still some way off the 55 points they conceded to Saracens at the StoneX stadium. The previous best for the Irish province was 32 points against Leicester Tigers and Gloucester.

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