We are away this weekend to Sheffield Tigers for our reverse fixture from earlier in the season. The home game in September was a massive day for us as the previous weekend we had lost to Sedgley Tigers away. The fixture at Heywood Road saw Sale cross the line 8 times and given the pride of the Yorkshire team, I suspect we won’t have such a massive scoreline this weekend.
For those of you who didn’t catch the game in September, here is the link to the write up and highlights of the game.
Saturday the 23rd of December was arguably the best day Sale FC have had since we gained promotion to National 2 North. 1500 People came down to meet the new signing, drink in the new clubhouse, 175 people for pre-match lunch and watch Sale FC overcome a powerful Tigers team in a tense encounter.
Trickey The Mutt makes his Debut in front of a packed balcony at Heywood Road
Sedgley Tigers were one of only two teams to defeat Sale FC this season and the return fixture was an absolute arm wrestle until the final 20 when Sale turned on the power and sent first Danny Birchall over the line and then the returning Jake Barron touched down following two penalties from Chris Johnson who had yet another fine kicking display. Sedge never really looked like crossing the line against a Sale team with the best defensive record in the National Leagues, even camped on the Sale FC line for ten minutes so no panic from the home team, the final play of the game however, say a rare mistake from Chris Johnson who looking for space over the back three, misjudged his kick and Tigers winger Samuel Lowthion slipped a tackle, and used his pace to get Tigers their bonus point.
Chris Johnson has had some early season hiccups, but, since his showing against Tigers and Tynedale , he’s arguably the best 10 in the league not just by keeping the scoreboard ticking over, but the control of the game which Sale has been missing for the last couple of seasons. His kicks into the corner coupled with the Line Out skills of Rhys, Gaz and Jake have made depressing viewing for many opposition supporters. A full match report is now here
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know something big is happening at Heywood Road on Saturday. Sedgley Park Tigers make the short journey to Sale FC in our return fixture with the intention of upsetting our upsurge in form since the poor outing at theirs. The timetable for the day is packed, with the bar opening at 12:00pm and the festivities finishing at 11pm with live music in the Steve Smith Bar. Lunch is totally sold out in our new venue The Suite @Sale with a Q&A from Ollie Longmore and a speech from Steve Smith. We will also introduce our new signing at 2pm.
We have some big events even before the KO where we introduce our new signing. Sale FC Chairman describes this new signing as “pound for pound” the best signing we’ve ever made.
Neil Briggs is confident that he’s a definite game changer and he says the players in the pack have been working like hounds to retain their spots.
Director of Rugby Jonathan Keep is keen to let this player off the leash on Saturday and see if he can really perform on a big stage after 6 months away from all contact from rugby.
We’ve tried to get more information on the new signing from the Director of Rugby and his team, but they aren’t releasing anything until 2pm on Saturday.
The team sheet won’t be released as normal, but the rumour is that at least one player is making their debut tomorrow….
Sale FC have moved from 5th to 3rd in the table this week with only two points between the three teams.
Match highlights are now available here.
Post match interview with Chris Mayor and John Blanchard Jr.
Yesterday we hosted Wharfedale at Heywood road in what turned out to be another five points for Sale FC. We still remain in 5th Position in the table, but with only 2 points separating the top five!
We saw the return of Neil Briggs to Heywood Road in his first game of the season after injury and he managed to score a try providing more evidence that fashion is temporary by class is permanent,
This season has seen a massive push down at Sale FC and although we are still fifth in the table our defensive record and points difference is miles ahead of the rest of the league.
Sale FC have conceded only 154 points this season whereas Tynedale who lead the league have conceded 242 points.
Our points difference is 226 to Tynedale and Hinckley who are both on 186.
The video highlights are here
National League 2 North 2017/18 – Points Table
| Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | PD | TBP | LBP | Ded | Pts | Rec % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tynedale | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 410 | 224 | 186 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 81.67 |
 |
Hinckley | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 428 | 242 | 186 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 81.67 |
 |
Stourbridge | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 379 | 242 | 137 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 81.67 |
 |
Sedgley Park | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 444 | 313 | 131 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 80 |
 |
Sale FC | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 380 | 154 | 226 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 78.33 |
Full match report will be here tomorrow.