MATCHDAY PROGRAMME | Sale Sharks v Saracens

SALE SHARK S V SAR ACENS Friday 2 2nd December, KO: 19:45

ALL 26 ESSENTIAL VITAMINS & MINERALS UP TO 20G OF PROTEIN

Scan to sh or find ou op t more about

bolfoods.com

official partner of

A WORD FROM THE A XE W E L C O M E B A C K T O T H E S A L F O R D S TA D I U M F O R A M A S S I V E F E S T I V E F I X T U R E A G A I N S T A C L U B , A N D A G R O U P O F P L AY E R S A N D C O A C H E S , T H AT I K N O W V E R Y W E L L .

Any game against Saracens is big but it feels like there’s a bit more on this one.

It’s the Christmas game, it’s a repeat of the final last season, it’s a chance for our lads to get the monkey off their backs, but most importantly, we’ve got a sell-out crowd and we want you all to come back. It’s huge and while outcomes of games like this shouldn’t define Christmas, I know that my bucks fizz and that first roast potato will taste so much sweeter on Christmas Day if we can get the performance and the win that we want tonight.

Before I go on, can I extend a northern welcome and say Happy Christmas to Mark McCall, his Saracens players and coaches, and all the Saracens fans who have made the trip up at what I know is a really busy time for everyone. The last time we hosted Saracens at our place was a fantastic occasion and a great game and I have no doubt you’re in for a similar treat tonight.

Obviously only time will tell, but I feel like we’re in a really good place after two good Champions Cup performances and one really great win. We’ve managed to rest everyone

ANY GAME AGAINST SARACENS IS BIG BUT IT FEELS LIKE THERE’S A BIT MORE ON THIS ONE. who is involved tonight and we’re feeling fresh and ready to go back into the Premiership.

I’ve already mentioned the last time we played Saracens here at the Salford Stadium, but that wasn’t the last time we faced them. That was in the Premiership final in May and it was a day none of us associated with Sale Sharks will forget. I was

5

FOR THE FUTURE Financial planning that’s as unique as you.

At Franklyn, we promise you a truly personal service. When you work with us, your financial goals are at the heart of everything we do.

Our aim is to be your trusted financial adviser not just for today, but for the long term.

•

Personal Financial Planning

•

Tax Efficient Investment Planning

•

Retirement Planning

•

Pension Planning

•

Mortgages

•

Access to Currency Exchange*

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. *Please note this involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place.

Talk to Franklyn CALL 01260 291825 VISIT FRANKLYN.CO.UK

Franklyn is a trading name of Franklyn Financial Management Ltd and is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management Plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website at www.sjp.co.uk/products.

Franklyn Financial Management Ltd is registered in England and Wales No. 6280392. Registered Office: St. James’s House, 4-5 John Bradshaw Court, Alexandria Way, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1LB.

SJP Approved 7/9/2023

asked this week if we – or I – had any regrets and truthfully, I do look back on that day with a sense of what might have been. I feel like we had them at the 60 minute mark and while loads of teams probably think that, we had big opportunities on their try line. I don’t feel like we showed the best of ourselves but we’re a young, developing team. Tonight’s game will be a really good gauge for us to show how far we’ve come with a similar group of players.

Christmas is a strange time for professional sportsmen and women.

The lads will get four days off over Christmas because it’s been a hard slog since the start of the season and this is the first chance we can give them a rest to freshen them up before we get back into Saints on the 30th.

We go into this game top of the Gallagher Premiership and obviously that’s exactly where we want to be.

So outcome-wise – and I know that’s how we’re judged from the outside – we’re going well. But in terms of our performance I feel like there’s loads more to come from us all. That’s actually really exciting isn’t it? I think we’ve only hit our top form in two games – Bristol and Stade – and both of those games came after a big loss.

We need to be better in all areas of the game without need for a reaction to a defeat.

As I said, we come into this game after two really good performances in the Champions Cup. We only came away with one win but I was chuffed with what the boys did against Leinster, in particular. We saw 19-year-olds going up against British and Irish Lions and more than holding their own and we had a team who was extremely

competitive against one of the world’s best teams. The lads came out with so much energy and momentum to take into tonight and for those younger players especially, the knowledge that they can go toe-to-toe with experienced internationals and handle that level of intensity will be massive for them.

One of the big learnings from the game in Dublin was that making mistakes around the basic fundamentals of the game – like not winning a line-out five metres out – can have dire consequences against top quality opposition.

The momentum swings that those mistakes can lead to are huge and I have no doubt that Saracens will punish us in the same way if our basics aren’t good enough.

A game’s big moments turn on small hinges and we need to make sure we turn those big moments in our favour. If we can do that, we’re in for another special night and those pigs in blankets will taste all the sweeter for all of us come Monday.

Lastly, I want to say a huge thank you for your support in the last 12 months. We’ve had plenty of highs and lows and everything in between.

You’ve stuck with us and I hope that we’ve given you a team to be proud of. 2023 was pretty memorable but I’m confident that 2024 will be even better.

So, from everyone at Sale Sharks, look after yourselves over this festive period, and have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Thanks, Al 7

CHRISTMAS WITH THE DU PREZZIES IT WA S A LONG NINE WEEK S OUT FOR JE AN-LUC DU PREEZ AF TER A HAMSTRING TE AR FORCED HIM OFF IN THE G ALL AGHER PREMIERSHIP OPENER AG AINST NORTHAMP TON SAINTS .

But absence made the heart grow fonder for the Springbok giant and when he got the nod to replace Rouban Birch in the second half of the Champions Cup game against Leinster, he was ready to make a big impact.

Now, after an injury to twin brother Dan, JL is back in the starting XV and he’s got Saracens in his sights.

“We don’t need too much motivation to put in a performance against Saracens,” he said. “They’re such a good team and we know that we need to be at our very best all over the field to get a result.

“It was so good to get back out there last week and what a place to do it – away to Leinster in the RDS. I know we lost but there are some defeats where you know you didn’t turn up and it’s hard to take much from it, and there are some that almost feel like wins.

WE DON’T REALLY EAT TURKEY. IN FACT, MY FAVOURITE FOOD AT CHRISTMAS GROWING UP WAS BEEF TONGUE. 9

“That’s how it felt after Leinster.

Obviously we were gutted not to win but the energy, the spirit and the quality that the boys showed was incredible. We got out of it everything that we wanted to set us up for a big night tonight. The effort was immense.

“The energy and the spirit was the key thing going into that game and the focus for the early part of this week was along the same lines. Our theme for the week was the Christmas spirit and bringing the energy and physicality in everything we do.

“In our team meeting Manu talked about how physicality is a mentality, and a choice, and I totally agree. But every single member of our squad has made that choice and we’re all ready to bring it.

“I think it could be a really special night on Friday. It’s Christmas and we know how much a win would mean to everyone.”

It’s been a strong start to the season for Your Sharks with six wins out of eight propelling Al’s men to the top of the Gallagher Premiership.

But according to JL, there’s plenty more to come from this team.

“Of course, we’re so happy to be top of the table, but I don’t feel like we’ve played as well as we can that often,” he added. “There’s so much more to come from this team and I don’t feel like we’ve reached our potential yet.

“That’s actually exciting. I really think we’re ready to put in a big, full 80 minute performance against Saracens.”

After the Sarries game, the squad will take four days off to recharge the batteries and prepare for a big second half of the season. And there might be a bit of eating involved in the du Preez household as JL and older brother Rob take their families to JL’s twin brother Dan’s house for Christmas.

“Christmas in South Africa is a bit different,” he added. “We don’t really eat turkey. In fact, my favourite food at Christmas growing up was beef tongue. My mum used to boil it and it was absolutely delicious.

Christmas. He loves to dabble in the kitchen and he’s pretty good on the BBQ but I think we’ll be staying inside this year.

“The three of us all have very young children and they’re all at an age now when they can really understand and enjoy Christmas so I think it will be really special. I’m sure we’ll play a few games too. It will be perfect…..as long as we win on Friday!”

“I think Dan’s planning on cooking roast lamb and gammon as well this

11

CAPTAIN (C)URRY HAPPY CHRISTMA S AND WELCOME BACK TO A VERY COLD AND WINDY SALFORD STADIUM . THIS IS ALWAYS A RE ALLY E XCITING TIME FOR THE PL AYERS BEC AUSE WHILE THE G AMES COME THICK AND FA ST, WE NORMALLY GET A BIT OF TIME OFF TOO. THIS YE AR WE ’ VE GOT FOUR DAYS OFF AND I RECKON THAT ’S THE MOST I ’ VE E VER HAD OFF. A Curry Christmas is nothing out of the ordinary. We’ll all get together as a family and my mum will definitely try and force us to play board games.

I’m lucky in that I can generally eat whatever I want and it doesn’t really affect me so I’ll be tucking into turkey and all the trimmings. If anything, I could do with putting on a bit of weight! I’m sure my time off will involve a bit of time in the gym because we’ve got a really tough game coming up at Northampton on the 30th, but otherwise I’ll be enjoying some down time.

A CURRY CHRISTMAS IS NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. WE’LL ALL GET TOGETHER AS A FAMILY AND MY MUM WILL DEFINITELY TRY AND FORCE US TO PLAY BOARD GAMES. 13

Going into tonight’s game, I’m feeling really fresh. It’s been a tough first half of the season but it’s crazy what a weekend off does. I feel so much better! I watched the lads play against Leinster and I was so proud of the performance they put in. They really went after them and that has definitely motivated not just the lads who played, but the whole squad.

The manner in which they played was fantastic and some lads who maybe haven’t had as many minutes as they’d have liked put in massive performances. Those last two tries showed what we’re all about as a group. They never gave in and even right at the end, when a lot of teams would have kicked the ball out, they kept going.

Yep, we want to win every game, but that kind of performance gives the whole club a lift and we’re all buzzing to go again tonight, in front of a massive crowd.

Playing in front of a full house at the Salford Stadium is really special and it really does give us a lift. Our fans are the loudest in the league and when the stadium is packed it’s an amazing experience for us. Throw in the fact that it’s Christmas, and it’s Saracens, and it means tonight could be a really special night for everyone.

Lastly, can I say on behalf of all the players, a big thank you for all your support during 2023. It’s been a brilliant year for us and I hope we’ve given you some fantastic memories too.

So have a happy Christmas, a brilliant new year and here’s to an even better 2024.

Enjoy the game, Ben

NE X T UP AT

CORPACQ STADIUM Sale Sharks Women are back in action on home turf on Saturday 6th January, taking on Saracens.

All Sale Sharks season ticket holders and U16s get in for FREE, or you can pay on the door.

KIC K OF F 2 .00 PM

BUY TICKETS 15

For the borrower first approach to property finance Make your mark with Roma Finance

Bridging | Refurbishment | Auction | Conversion Development | Developer Exit | Below Market Value Commercial | Residential

0161 507 6859 | salesharks@romafinance.co.uk

romafinance.co.uk

Stainless steal.

In 1972, famed designer Gérald Genta created an oxymoron. Priced more than many precious metal rivals, the ‘luxury stainless steel timepiece’ was not an immediate success. But eventually its tough, elegant body, integrated bracelet and patterned dial caught on. A watch that dressed up for dinner. Or down, at the pool. Today’s 40mm, base automatic of that original watch costs £22,850 more than the new ‘Twelve’ - named for its dodecagon-sided bezel and rear lock ring. Our watch is thinner, goes deeper and offers a choice of C1/BL Grade X1-lumed dials. A polished, brushed and sandblasted case of daylight (and night time) robbery?

Do your research.

christopherward.com

Come for the job, stay for the career.

As recruiters, we understand there is no such thing as a typical career path, everyone’s story is different.

We support people from all walks of life; the opportunists, the unfulfilled, the go-getters, the ambitious, the career pivoters, the ex-forces, the underappreciated, the returning parents and the apprentices, to find roles in STEM which work for them.

Looking for your next career opportunity? Find the role that works for you at www.morson.com

SCAN TO SEARCH

[COWORKING] SPACES [FLEXIBLE] WORKING [HOT] DESKS [MEETING] ROOMS [EVENT] SPACES [GYM] ONSITE

Spaces to meet, work & celebrate in Alderley Edge

ONELRD.COM

TRANSPORT, HAULAGE TRANSPORT, HAULAGE & LOGISTICS EXPERTS & LOGISTICS EXPERTS

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO INSURANCE SOLUTIONS EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO INSURANCE SOLUTIONS FOR SINGLE VEHICLES TO LARGE FLEETS FOR SINGLE VEHICLES TO LARGE FLEETS Our Transport, Haulage & Logistics Team provides a wealth of experience and expert knowledge in sourcing Our Transport, Haulage & Logistics Team provides a wealth of experience and expert knowledge in sourcing comprehensive and tailored insurance for all your haulage and transport needs. comprehensive and tailored insurance for all your haulage and transport needs.

Contact Us Contact Us 0161 406 4800 0161 406 4800 OFFICIAL PARTNER info@cc-insure.com OFFICIAL PARTNER info@cc-insure.com

C&C Insurance Brokers Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority – 309053 C&C Insurance Brokers Ltd are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority – 309053 Registered in Englandand andregulated Wales Company No. 4439084

FROM THE SHARK TANK I T ’ S T H E B I G O N E , A N D W H AT B E T T E R T I M E F O R I T T H A N A F R I DAY NIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS! In a repeat of last year’s Twickenham final, and a repeat of some of the best occasions at the Salford Stadium over the last few years, we welcome Sarries to the north for what should be a corker of a game in front of a capacity crowd.

We come into this game off the back of two positive performances in Europe – after toiling in the first half against Stade Francais, our endeavour and effort was rewarded with deserved tries in the second half in what was ultimately a comfortable victory. A great day for the defence too, with no points conceded in the second half, left us feeling in as good a shape as possible heading into a massive game away at Leinster.

let alone be ahead for the entire first half. The positivity and intent shown by the players was only matched by the travelling support as they roared on Connor Doherty under the posts, yet what was almost more impressive was the workrate and effort around the pitch to repel and disrupt Leinster.

Some superhuman performances went in, with a particular shoutout to Ross Harrison, who from where we were sitting seemed to hit every tackle. There were too many individual contributions to name them

Dublin, for those of you who were there, was not what we expected.

Whether you made the journey over the Irish Sea or not, no amount of Sale bias, optimism or Guinness could distract from the fact that this was one of our toughest tests of recent years. Written off by everyone from journalists to opposition fans, including some less than kind previews in certain Irish papers, it’s safe to say that very few people expected Sale to be winning at any point in this game,

all, but particular praise for some of the young players who shone on the biggest stage - Tumy, Asher and Ben Bamber make the future look in safe hands. And of course, Arron Reed is electric. Just ridiculous.

We hope then that our boys can send us into the festive celebrations with a win, but whatever happens we hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year, and look forward to more Sharks success in 2024!

We turn back to the Prem then with a lot of optimism and a huge game at home to a team who we know will be in the mix for the title come the end of the season. Sitting at the top of an incredibly tight table, this is a huge opportunity for us to put some distance between us and one of our big rivals for a playoff and home semifinal spot. As we know with Sarries, it is never an easy task and will require all the heart and fight shown in Leinster as well as some of the magic we saw there too.

Alex, James and Lewis

T O L I S T E N T O T H E P O D C A S T, CLICK HERE:

21

CREATE YOUR OWN CAREER PATH ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A CAREER IN SPORT? / Find out more about our range of undergraduate sport courses here

K C I L C ME

Whatever stage you’re at in your career, find the right course for you: / ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS / COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY / NURSING AND MIDWIFERY / PSYCHOLOGY / SOCIAL WORK / SOCIOLOGY, CRIMINOLOGY AND POLICING / SPORT, REHABILITATION AND NUTRITION

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OF OUR UPCOMING OPEN DAYS

salforduni

@SalfordUni

University of Salford

@SalfordUni

Salford University

F O R W A R D S

YOUR SHARKS

WILL AUSTIN

BEN BAMBER

JOSH BEAUMONT

PATREECE BELL

ROUBAN BIRCH

TOM BURROW

ETHAN CAINE

ELLIS CAUSEY

FRANK CHATTERTON

LUKE COWAN-DICKIE

AGUSTIN CREEVY

BEN CURRY

TOM CURRY

HUW DAVIES

DAN DU PREEZ

JEAN-LUC DU PREEZ

SAM DUGDALE

TOM ELLIS

CAL FORD

ALEX GROVES

JAMES HARPER

ROSS HARRISON

JONNY HILL

JOE JONES

RALPH M c EACHRAN

SIMON MCINTYRE

EWAN MURPHY

YANDE NKONGE

29

OLATUMY ONASANYA

ASHER OPOKU-FORDJOUR

TYE RAYMONT

WILL RILEY

BEVAN RODD

NICK SCHONERT

TOMMY TAYLOR

HARRY THOMPSON

COBUS WIESE

TRISTAN WOODMAN

B A C K S

ERNST VAN RHYN

JOE BEDLOW

SAM BEDLOW

ALBERT BRADSHAW

JOE CARPENTER

TOM CURTIS

CONNOR DOHERTY

ROB DU PREEZ

CARWYN EDWARDS

GEORGE FORD

LUKE JAMES

SAM JAMES

REKEITI MA’ASI-WHITE

BEN MOTAMED

TOM O’FLAHERTY

AARON POPE

RAFFI QUIRKE

ARRON REED

OSIAN ROBERTS

TOM ROEBUCK

FINN ROGERS

31

Put joint pain, low energy levels & poor immunity in the sin bin.

30% Off Scan me and use code: SHARKS30

theturmeric.co

NYE THOMAS

MANU TUILAGI

GUS WARR

TELUSA VEAINU

ALEX WILLS

CHARLIE WARDLE

WILL WOOTTON

S TAY U P T O DAT E O N A L L T H E L AT E S T S H A R K S N E W S W I T H S H A R K B I T E S !

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP Photography at Sale Sharks events: Sale Sharks will at times take photographs and/or record video content at their events. We reserve the right to publish these images on various formats including but not limited to the Sale Sharks website, social media channels and match-day programme. We operate an ‘opt-out’ policy with regard to these images, if you do not wish to be featured in any of the club’s content we request you contact our head of safeguarding Carol Baker via email at safeguardingreporting@salesharks.com

33

Cyber Security Audits, Training, Accreditations and a fully managed multilayer defence system.

What is the Cyber Essentials certification?

What is included in the Cyber Essentials Package?

This is a simple and effective UK government backed scheme that will help you protect your organisation against a range of the most common cyber-attacks such as; Phishing attacks • Malware • Ransomware Password guessing • Network Attacks

Guidance to set scope • Firewall & network controls • Secure configuration • Access controls • Malware protection • Patch management Guidance on controls

The Treat Landscape 31% of all UK SMEs are attacked every week and don’t even know.

90% of SMEs received phishing emails every week with 89% of successful attacks due to human error.

67% of SMEs don’t have the skills or processes to prevent an attack and 89% would not be able to manage a successful resolution.

65% of successful breaches cost an SME £10k in ransom fines/ litigation or business disruption.

73% of SMEs feel their employees are the biggest risk with a 20% experienced employee data theft and harmful links being clicked on.

Answer review before submission for assessment Cyber Insurance (Only for UK businesses) Free Assessment / Audit method Email support Certification Fees (certification within 24 hrs of submission) Half-day support day

Limited Offer

£675 (ex VAT)

Once vou have obtained Cyber Essentials, you can apply to upgrade to Cyber Essentials Plus from £99 per month* Upgrade must be within 3 months of acquiring Cyber Essentials. *Based on 12 month agreement.

Tel: 0330 440 4848

Email: info@connectus.org.uk

35 www.connectus.org.uk

PERSONAL INSURANCE TAILORED INSURANCE SOLUTIONS FOR PRESTIGE HOMES, VALUABLES AND VEHICLES Our Private Client Team are experienced in sourcing insurance policies for high value possessions. We provide a tailored solution for our clients looking to combine insurance for their prestige home, valuable and motor requirements

Contact Us 0161 406 4800 pc@cc-insure.com

OFFICIAL PARTNER

C&C Insurance Brokers Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority – 309053 Registered in England and Wales Company No. 4439084

The UK’s most trusted electrical retailer We have more 5* Trustpilot reviews than any other UK electrical retailer

Shop now at ao.com