Sale Sharks go to last year’s Heineken Cup and Celtic Pro 12 semi-finalists Munster this weekend still searching for their first victory in Pool A of the European Rugby Champions Cup.
This European campaign has been one of missed opportunities for the Sharks: in a group containing three of the last four from the 2013-14 competition they were agonisingly close to winning each of their home fixtures.
Despite propping up the table in Pool A with just two bonus losing points, back-rower Mark Easter insists the experience of playing the best teams can help Sale’s challenge in the domestic league.
He said: “It was disappointing as we wanted to win one of the home games and we pushed all three big sides pretty close so we take the positives from that.
“If you take the stats out of it our performances at home have been good and realistically we weren’t going to come top of our pool so we wanted to get experience from it.
“You remember the ones (games lost in closing stages) you lose more often but yes we’re always looking for that 80-minute performance. It’s a cliché but it’s really important.
“It’s always disappointing when you’ve been up there for 70 minutes and you lose it in the last ten, but you’ve got to go away and look at the stuff you’re doing well and keep reinforcing that.”
The Irish side required a last-minute drop goal to nick the points in Salford back in October, and when the sides clash at Thomond Park on Sunday only pride is left to play for as neither side can progress.
Despite their ups and downs, 32-year-old Easter insists he and his teammates would not have had it any other way as their attention switches to a push for the Aviva Premiership play-offs.
He added: “Our focus now will be the Premiership. We’re looking forward to that challenge and using these weeks to rebuild and get everyone right.
“We want to be playing against the best. We can be proud of our efforts and we wouldn’t want to change it. It’s good experience coming back into Premiership competition knowing you’ve been playing the best sides in Europe.
“The Premiership break is also a chance to refresh and everyone’s in the same boat so we’ve just got to keep sharp and train and use this time to refocus. That makes this squad stronger and builds you up as a team.”
After their European swansong, for this year at least, the Salford side are in action in the LV=Cup against Newcastle Falcons, where they still have a chance to advance from the group stage.
Main image courtesy of Sale Sharks via YouTube, with thanks.
