Tag: #morethanjustarugbyclub

Sale FC 5 Cambridge 24

Sale FC’s season finale ends on a losing note as Cambridge produce the great escape at the CorpAcq Stadium.

Matt Bradley in action against Cambridge (c) Mark Ferriss Photography

With Sale FC’s season finale being one where the home side had already secured their future in National League One in only their first season in the league, today’s game was always going to be more about the visitors Cambridge, and whether or not they could escape the relegation battle that they had become a part of during the second half of the season.

Knowing that the bottom two had already gone, these being Esher Rugby and Loughborough Students respectively, it was going to go down to the wire with three sides, namely Caldy, Birmingham Moseley and Cambridge, who occupied the final relegation place all going into battle knowing a five point win would allow them to survive.

The game was barely three minutes old when Cambridge Centre James Ayrton, was able to latch on to a pass from brother Michael, who had run around the oncoming Sale defence before putting his brother in to the right of the posts, therefore giving the visitors the lead and Fly Half Ben Penfold the opportunity to add the extras in the opening exchanges of the match.

Now that the visitors had taken a seven point lead in the match, Sale were looking to try and get back in the match with a number of attacking possessions that didn’t really come off, due to either sloppy passing or the ball being knocked on in terribly wet conditions.

With the weather playing a large part in the afternoon’s proceedings, Sale struggles continued especially when they had been awarded an advantage, leading to a lineout close to the Cambridge 10m line. Unfortunately, Briggs couldn’t find his man and the advantage was seemingly lost.

Rhys Davies reaches new heights against Cambridge (c) Mark Ferriss Photography

On 13 minutes, the visitors managed to score again as Sale coughed up possession once more, leading to Cambridge’s Penfold putting in a cross field kick that Robbie Povey missed, allowing winger Mike Ayrton to go over in the corner unattended. With Penfold missing the extras here, Cambridge now had a lead that they wouldn’t lose even though Sale never ever gave up.

Even though the next 20 minutes saw possession change hands at regular intervals, it was Sale who went into half time very much on the up, as they created a plethora of scoring chances, which they weren’t able to convert, mainly due to some resolute defending from the visitors, but also the fact that they were able to infringe at regular intervals at the breakdown.

With five minutes to go, the infringements by Cambridge were punished as the referee gave Cambridge Flanker Ciaran Moore a yellow card for repeat offences. From this advantage Sale went to the corner giving them their third 5m line out in a row, from here Sale built a great platform leading to Prop Simon Griffiths the chance to rumble over in his final appearance for Sale FC.

Going in to the break, Sale had reduced the arrears to seven points and got the wind in their sails. At the start of the second half, Sale tried hard to make the man advantage count some more, but unforced errors lead to them coughing up possession in valuable areas, providing the visitors with further chances to extend their lead.

Tom Ailes on the run against Cambridge (c) Mark Ferriss Photography

Something that they did in the 47th minute, when the returning Moore latched on to a rolling maul set up from their own lineout throw, meaning that the visitors lead was up to 12 points, and the chance to survive the National League One relegation battle becoming more apparent.

At this time however regardless of the latest score, the visitors were going to be relegated as the closest side to them Caldy were beating the other potential relegation candidates Birmingham Moseley by ten points to seven with only 15 minutes to go in the game.

For the next 30 minutes, this game seemed to go into an almost stalemate, with neither side being able to get any real grip on a game, that was fast becoming increasingly error strewn as the weather seemed to affect both sides, even though there were opportunities available as they regularly attacked each other’s halves of the field.

However, there was one final twist yet to come, as on 76 minutes replacement Winger Sam Yawayawa was provided with an opportunity to score in the corner, giving the visitors the five points that they so desperately needed to stay in National League One, therefore relegating our Cheshire neighbours Caldy down in to National Two South from next season.

Even though the afternoon’s result didn’t go the way of Sale FC, they can be safe in the knowledge that they will be playing National League One rugby next season, especially after the pre-season predictions from the national journalists said that “Sale FC would be certain relegation candidates in their first season of National One rugby”.

To watch the highlights of Saturday’s game please follow the link here

Sale FC v Cambridge

Team Line up for tomorrow’s game against Cambridge Rugby

Saturday afternoon sees Sale FC Rugby play our last National League One game of the season against Cambridge Rugby.

The day is a celebration of rugby, with the Minis and Juniors having their awards presentation in the morning, followed by the first team game, before the Men’s, Women’s and Under 16’s sides have their awards presentation in the evening.

With Sale FC now mathematically safe from the relegation battle, it is sure to be a fantastic day of rugby for all involved. However, our visitors sit just inside the relegation zone and will therefore be looking to escape from the grasps of relegation and National League Two South for next season.

We look forward to seeing you at the CorpAcq Stadium, where there will be a barbecue on for all fans, with a parade at half time for all the minis and juniors to participate in.

Admission to the game is as follows: Adults £10, Concessions £8 and Children U16’s FREE.

Connor Doherty to face the Junior Springboks

England U20’s select Connor Doherty to face the Junior Springboks in Coventry.

Connor Doherty of England U20 poses for a headshot during a Development Camp at Bisham Abbey – Rogan/JMP – 06/01/2019 – Bisham Abbey – Marlow, England.

Tomorrow Evening (Friday 26th April) England U20’s are playing the Junior Springboks at the Butts Arena, home of Coventry Rugby, Kick Off is 7.30pm and is being streamed live on EnglandRugby.com.

The game against the Junior Springboks will serve as a vital test for the U20’s squad before the U20’s World Championships commence in June this year in Argentina.

Amongst the squad selected by Head Coach Steve Bates, is Sale Sharks Academy and Sale FC player Connor Doherty, who played a part earlier this season in the U20’s Six Nations campaign. Connor is also joined by Sharks Academy team mate Gus Warr.

This game is the second successive fixture against the Junior Springboks as the last one in 2018 took place at Worcester Warrior’s Sixways Stadium, once again as vital preparation for the U20’s World Championships.

When discussing the game’s importance, Head Coach Steve Bates said
“Last year’s match against South Africa was an important match in that it highlighted areas we needed to tighten before we played our first fixture at the Championship in France, while it also gave us an opportunity to play against one of the main contenders for the tournament. We learned a lot about their physicality and how they played and it proved to be a real eye opener for the squad as to what to expect from one of the southern hemisphere nations.”

The squad selected for the game is as follows:

15. Josh Hodge (Newcastle Falcons), 14. Charlie Powell (Bristol Bears), 13. Sam Spink (Wasps), 12. Connor Doherty (Sale Sharks), 11. Jake Morris (Gloucester Rugby), 10. Manu Vunipola (Saracens), 9. Gus Warr (Sale Sharks), 1. Olly Adkins (Gloucester Rugby), 2. Alfie Barbeary (Wasps) – Bloxham School, 3. Marcus Street (Exeter Chiefs), 4. Joel Kpoku (Saracens), 5. James Scott (Worcester Warriors), 6. Tom Willis (Wasps) – Captain, 7. Andy Christie (Saracens), 8. Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements 16. Kai Owen (Worcester Warriors), 17. Ben Atkins (London Irish), 18. Alfie Petch (Exeter Chiefs), 19. Jon Kpoku (Saracens), 20. Izaiha Moore-Aiono (London Irish), 21. Ollie Fox (Yorkshire Carnegie), 22. Will Haydon-Wood (Newcastle Falcons), 23. Jack Reeves (Gloucester Rugby)

Matt Bradley Overjoyed that rugby is back

Season Finale Sat 27th April

This Saturday, Sale FC play against Cambridge Rugby in the season finale.

Sale FC Rugby v Cambridge – Saturday 27th April (c) Sale FC Rugby

On Saturday 27th April, Sale FC Rugby play host to Cambridge Rugby in their season finale to their first campaign in National League One.

With the blue and whites future in National League One almost certainly secured for another season, the visitors Cambridge still have it all to play for as they sit perilously above the relegation zone going into the final round of the season.

After their first meeting on the opening day of the season, where both sides played out a 36-36 draw down at Cambridge, it is sure to go down to the wire this time around with Sale FC Rugby having home advantage over their Southern opponents.

With the season drawing to a close on Saturday afternoon at the CorpAcq Stadium, it will also see post match the End of Season Awards Dinner taking place at the club, where players will receive such accolades as Player of the Season and Player’s Player of the Season. Additionally, there will also be the first awards ceremony for the 1861 Womens team.

To join in these celebrations at the club on Saturday evening contact Functions Manager here for your tickets. Tickets for the event are priced at £10 per person.

Admission for the game on Saturday is as follows: Adults £10, Concessions £8 and Children U16 FREE.

For more information about the game this Saturday please keep an eye on the club website and social media for more details.

England Deaf Rugby Double Header

This afternoon Sale FC Rugby will be hosting an England Deaf Rugby Double Header here at the CorpAcq Stadium.

England Deaf v Wales Deaf at Cardiff Arms Park

This afternoon Sale FC Rugby will play host to two top class Deaf Rugby fixtures between featuring both the England Men’s and Women’s sides here at the CorpAcq Stadium.

The first fixture of the afternoon will see Sale 1861 Women side take on England Deaf’s Women’s side in a friendly fixture kicking off at 1pm. Then at 4pm, England Deaf’s Men’s side will play their Welsh counterparts in an International Test Match for the Broadstreet Cup.

In their last encounter in January, England Deaf Men were beaten by their Welsh opponents at Cardiff Arms Park by 29-11, in what was a thrilling encounter.

We are sure that both of these fixtures will be as good, with the games being shown to a global audience thanks to the BBC Sport Online team and the camera work of Richard Jackson at Cheers Mate Productions.

If you would to watch the games from the comfort of your front room, if you can’t make it to the CorpAcq Stadium this afternoon, please use the following link here

Alternatively, if you can make today’s game and would like to enjoy some top class International Rugby, there are tickets still available for the games with Admission being £10 for Adults, Children U16 FREE and Sale FC Rugby Members FREE on production of your membership card.

Trafford Girls Rugby continues to grow

The Trafford Girls Rugby programme continues to go from strength to strength since it began just a month ago.

Invite to come and play for the Trafford Girls Rugby team.

Monday nights down at the new venue of Carrington HPC Training Centre have definitely been a lot popular with the Trafford Girls Rugby programme since it started just over a month ago.

Coach Andy Hughes has seen the number of girls attending the sessions grow week on week, with the wide range of ages being catered for in both of the ages brackets, these being U13’s and U15’s as this fledgling programme finds its feet.

Each week, the session start at 6.30pm and the invitation is open to any girls who fall into either of the age categories within the Trafford Schools catchment area. Therefore, if you would like to come along please contact Andy Hughes either via email Andy@Salefc.com or 0161 905 2006.

The Girls also feature in the Messenger this week, to read more about the Trafford Girls programme please follow the link here