As domestic rugby takes a two-week break, Sale Sharks are gearing up to compete in the first round of European fixtures after victory over Bath.
Sale will now face French side Biarritz who are rooted to the bottom of the Top 14 with only a sole win from eight games so far.
The Sharks now place fifth on the 2013–14 Aviva Premiership table with 10 points between them and current lead London-team Saracens.
Yet with an impressive standing in the league after only five matches, things are much brighter for the Sharks with Director of Rugby Steve Diamond admitting that results so far had exceed expectations.
“We probably would have thought 10 to 12 points would have been a really good start for us,” he said.
“I think we have got 13 points and we’ve got to happy with ourselves on that.”
Focus now shifts to the Amlin Challenge Cup a competition that Sale have won twice and the Sharks face a quick turnaround to get ready for the match in front of the TV cameras on Thursday evening.
“We’ve got to be highly competitive so we will be dusted down and ready for that,” Diamond said.
Despite the good start to the season Diamond wants to remain grounded going into the match.
“Let’s just take everyone as it comes and show our spirit. If our top players complete the game plan like we ask them to then we will stand a chance to win a lot of games here,” he added.
The club are keen to help fans get to the AJ Bell stadium and have been looking at potentially running a shuttle bus from Eccles Tram station to the ground.
Sale are aiming to collate feedback to see if they can help fans get to and from the stadium on game day.
Image courtesy of Sale Sharks Rugby Club via Youtube, with thanks.
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