Sale Sharks braced for most daunting task in global club rugby

Alex Sanderson has urged his side not be star-struck by the number of Galácticos in the Toulouse side when they visit the Stade Ernest Wallon tomorrow teatime.

The Sharks qualified for the round of 16 after their win over the South African Sharks last week, but the reigning Top 14 champions’ position is a lot more precarious after last weekend’s 20-14 loss to Saracens in north London.

The six-time Champions Cup winners sit fourth in Pool 1 and need at least a win and four tries to keep their hopes of reaching the next stage of the competition alive.

The side led by France superstar Antoine Dupont scored 60 points against La Rochelle in their last home game, have posted more than 50 points four times, and had to settle for 48 against Racing 92 on another occasion.

But Sanderson says that his side, who lost 38-15 to the same opposition in the round of 16 last season, need to find a way of getting under their skin in the opening exchanges.

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“Toulouse are ranked number one across every attacking metric in Europe. You try to take some transition away by going to the structure, but they are number one for scoring tries off lineouts.

“So you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t from a defensive perspective. You have to go out there and not be star-struck by the number of Galácticos they have got in their team.

“You have to go there and get under their skin by going at them. Striking early, like they did last year when they looked to innovate and adapt, which they will, and on transition, quickly close them down on those two or three phases.

“And then be relentless with it. We will need to generate some quick ball inside four, five, or six phases, if you can, because on the seventh or eighth phase, if he hasn’t robbed it already, Jack Willis is going to be all over it.

“He is a real threat, and they have also got Julien Marchand. They are both brilliant athletes, not too dissimilar to what Quins offer in terms of Will Evans and Jack Kenningham,” he said.

Sanderson knows that his side are the underdogs given Toulouse’s home record this season, but for once, he says that they will look to play on it and use it to their advantage.

“I think anyone going down there this weekend will be the underdog. It’s not one we hardly lean into anymore because we want to focus on being confident and being on top.

“But with this group against Toulouse at this point, it’s a decent one to play on. We lost to Glasgow, and everyone was argh, but to progress with a game in hand was rewarding, given the period we have had.

“Every time they play at home, they score a lot of points. They scored 60 against La Rochelle’s first team. Beating Toulouse in the context of that would be an unbelievable result,” he adds.