SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT
Director of Rugby Jonathan Keep submits his squad ahead of the vital clash this weekend against Plymouth Albion.
They sit comfortably in National League one, placed 8th, 10 points above Sale (11th). The turn of the year has been prosperous for Albion as they extended their 2020 100% win record, notably knocking Rosslyn Park off 2nd spot with a 41-22 win.
To catch up with how Albion have been getting on, click here
SATURDAY 1st FEB 2020
2pm | CorpAcq Stadium | Heywood Rd
The Dogs fell short again for a consecutive week, with London away trips proving difficult. Hear from Jonathan Keep and Chris Johnson as they reflect and look ahead.
To catch up with our fixture last week vs Blackheath- click here
Or, Catch up with Highlights below
Keepy:
“It has been a challenging yet a frustrating start to 2020 for the squad, having 3 long away trips down to London and one home fixture- resulting in 6 points out of a possible 20. We would’ve liked to achieve more, last week saw us just come short after building a good score, with 20 minutes to go just to let it slip.
We are going to focus on ourselves, focus on our performance this week and make sure we play to our structure- making the right decisions at the right times, making sure we keep our penalty count low.
We welcome Plymouth Albion up after coming off of a strong win against Rosslyn Park, so we know it’ll be a huge challenge awaiting us on Saturday. One, I think the squad will be up to”.
Once again, very few changes within the entire squad, with only a couple of rotations. Raffi Quirke rejoins us after a spell with the England U20s squad, he slots into 9 with Matt Bradley on the bench- a lethal scrum-half combination. Johnson remains at 10, partnering up with Quirke in what is expected to be a fierce encounter. Patrick Ah Van and Johnny Leota remain dominant in the centres, abusing opposition backlines in recent weeks. The prolific Jack Moorhouse and Jonty Rawcliffe remain on either wings with some quality performances coming forth, with tallies increasing. Emiliano Calle Rivas sticks at fullback, providing some additional pace to the FC backline.
Jonhson:
“Expecting a tough match.
Plymouth are on a 4 game winning run and beat Rosslyn Park last week, which is a great win for them.
We have been playing well but unable to get away victories in London, which has been frustrating. We need to make sure we challenge ourselves to make a big push in the league, getting back to winning ways
The squad is very strong so there is no reason why we should not go on a good run”.
Players to Watch
Sale FC: Chris Johnson, Patrick Ah Van & Jonty Rawcliffe
Plymouth Albion: Alex Ducker
