Alex Sanderson\u2019s Sale Sharks have been condemned by a former England international for their \u201cabsolute absence of ambition\u201d in last Saturday\u2019s Investec Champions Cup elimination in Ireland.<\/p>\n
The PREM Rugby strugglers qualified for the quarter-finals with a dour round of 16 win over Harlequins, another club at the wrong end of the English table.<\/p>\n
However, they failed to build on that victory and despite only trailing 7-3 at half-time at the Aviva Stadium, they were blown away in the second half<\/a> by a six-try Leinster onslaught. The 30-point, 43-13 deficit at the final whistle certainly didn\u2019t amuse the watching Stuart Barnes.<\/p>\n Penning a column in The Times<\/a> following the match, he pulled no punches and claimed they won\u2019t build their following from \u201cmiddling four-figure attendances to the 10,001 Gallagher PREM ambition\u201d if they continue to play their unattractive way they are.<\/p>\n \u201cKicking the leather off the ball\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n When Sale previously visited Dublin for a Champions Cup pool match in December 2023, they took great pride from a performance where they led 13-3 at the interval and were still fighting at the finish<\/a> in a 37-27 defeat. What they produced, though, on their Irish return 28 months later left much to be desired.<\/p>\n While admitting Sale can still be powerful, referencing an early scrum penalty, George Ford\u2019s fist-pumping celebration of a penalty won in defence just before the break and a ball-winning breakdown counter ruck in the 52nd minute, he bemoaned their generally unloved style of play and lack of ambition.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past few years, Sale have mixed plenty of power with the odd touch of panache and been among England\u2019s leading clubs. But they have struggled to get anywhere near filling their stadium,\u201d he said early in his piece before getting stuck into what unfolded in Dublin.<\/p>\n \u201cThe team are not winning many matches and they are not gathering the much-desired Generation Z of supporters. Why the hell would they when Alex Sanderson\u2019s side play the most predictable, one-dimensional rugby seen since England at the 2023 World Cup?<\/p>\n \u201cFord, a player of subtle variation, has seemingly succumbed to a game plan based on the belief that the only way Sale can win is by kicking the leather off the ball. An old phrase, and an old tactic too.\u201d<\/p>\n Leinster v Sale: Five takeaways as \u2018lion king\u2019 roars again during \u2018ugly duckling\u2019 of a quarter-final<\/a><\/p>\n Barnes did acknowledge that the Sharks were without several injured players, but he wasn\u2019t letting fellow No.10 Ford off the hook. \u201cWhen Ford threw a pass to no one, it was no surprise. Someone forgot to switch his pass mode on. With the game long lost, he was kicking possession away rather than looking for something special to mask the mundane nature of the Sale performance,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Scrum-half Gus Warr also came in for scathing criticism. \u201cWhile the utterly predictable Warr booted everything away, his opposite number, Jamison Gibson-Park, kept Sale guessing. One moment a box-kick, the next a sharp, angled break down the blind side.<\/p>\n \u201cSale were pulled wide, Max Deegan cut an angle, the defence was shredded, the try scored. Variety isn\u2019t just the clich\u00e9d spice of life; it\u2019s a way to win a game of rugby. One side were pathetically predictable, the other varied.\u201d<\/p>\n