Sharks wary of hungry Connacht

WITH four Lions in his squad, Sale coach Kingsley Jones is confident the Sharks will end Connacht’s European Challenge Cup odyssey on Sunday - but not as confident as he would have been had Michael Bradley’s side not grabbed a lifeline with a late try in their semi-final first leg.

“I would have taken a seven point victory on the morning of the match, but we were disappointed after the 80 minutes,” admitted Jones yesterday. “I was particularly disappointed with their final try and, as the forwards coach, I’m not happy that both of their tries were pushovers.

“We started okay but went off the boil and allowed Connacht back in the game. We were favourites before the game, and we’re still favourites to make the final, but we know Connacht want this a lot. They’re hungry and dangerous,” he said.

The Manchester outfit will include Jason Robinson in their squad along with three other members of Clive Woodward’s Lions tour party to New Zealand - Charlie Hodgson, Andy Titterall, and Andy Sheridan.

“Jason will be firing on all cylinders by Sunday,” said Jones. “He came back from the injury two weeks earlier than expected and is now rapidly getting back to his best.

“A seven point lead is decent but I am not pleased with the concession of a soft late try, our advantage should have been 14 points. Now the game is back on with everything to play for. It is very important we get to the final, we want that badly. If you win the European Challenge Cup it is a route into the Heineken Cup but a cup final is also such a great day out for the fans.

“Our goals for the season were to finish in the top four of the Zurich Premiership and to reach a cup final and we are still on course for both targets. Connacht have proven themselves to be particularly good at the drive from the line-out and they have a good kicking game and game plan that suits them. They are a tough side to beat, but having Charlie Hodgson back is a big boost for us.”

Connacht coach Michael Bradley has already seen one route to the Heineken Cup closed off via the Celtic League, and is acutely aware of the rewards on offer if his side can pull off another great Cup shock.

“Our ambition from the start of the season was to get into the 2005/06 Heineken Cup and this game represents our last opportunity to achieve this goal,” he said.

“Sale’s scrum is excellent and they certainly had the edge in that area in the first leg,” said Bradley. “The first game was a bit like wait-and-see, although we certainly know more about them for when we go to Edgeley Road.

“We are fully aware of the threat they pose at scrum time and on counter-attacks. We will be looking to do some work to combat these areas in the coming days.”

Connacht have delayed naming their side for Sunday as they await fitness tests on a number of players who picked up minor injuries last Saturday against the Dragons.

The new Perth Super 14 franchise will be known as the Western Force, with players sporting a stylised version of Western Australia state’s black swan emblem on their jersey.

Coach John Mitchell, a former All Blacks coach, said he was pleased with the choice.

The existing Super 12 team will be expanded to a 14-team competition next year with the addition of the Perth team and a fifth South African side.