Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson was ecstatic with his side after they secured a home semi-final thanks to a hard-fought 25-22 win over Gloucester in the Premiership.
The victory means they will likely meet defending champions Leicester Tigers in the play-offs on May 13.
Collective effort
Sanderson was impressed with the character his team showed to win and hailed the result as a “true squad performance”. He also knows how important momentum is going into the business end of the season.
“We had to dig deep to get the result,” Sanderson said.
“It’s when you are on the back-foot, those chinks can become chasms but not with this group. They were just galvanised and found a way.
“You see the bones of a team when they are on the back-foot and we were for large parts today. It was a true squad performance.
“It is important to keep form and fitness is important as well. It’s about keeping on that roll, keep improving and move into the semi-finals with some confidence.
“On a fast track when we went down to 14 men for so long, you need your bench to come on and perform, and there were some outstanding performances.”
Chasing silverware
Sale’s last Premiership title came 17 years ago and Sanderson knows that a home play-off is so important in the quest for silverware. Now is it all about making sure they use the foundation they have laid.
He added: “Look at the stats. It has been a long time (in terms of a home play-off), but it is just one step closer.
“I said two years ago (Sale lost to Exeter in the play-offs) we were patting ourselves on the back at this point thinking fairy-tales come true. They don’t. This just gives us a better chance of making good of all the work we’ve put in.”
Pushing for Champions Cup
Meanwhile, Gloucester may be out of the play-off race but are still vying for Champions Cup qualification. They have a West Country derby against Bristol to close out their season.
Head coach George Skivington thought aspects of his side’s performance were good whilst also acknowledging how congested the league table is.
“I thought the boys played some really good rugby against a very physical Sale team,” Skivington said.
“We had plenty of opportunities but it has been the story of the last couple of months and we have not finished them all off.
“I thought our defence was heroic today against a huge team that prides itself on physicality.
“We were third in the league, then suddenly you lose a few and you are down to ninth. That’s how cut-throat it is.”
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