With a tough maiden season in the bag, what can we expect from Sale Shark Women in their second ever Allianz Premier 15s campaign?
The Mclean Machine
Despite a new role as Women’s Performance Lead, World Cup winner Katy Daley-Mclean isn’t quite ready to hang up her boots just yet.
With Sharks still awaiting the arrival of a few key signings, the England centurion will be stepping in to fill the void at the start of this season.
KDM starts at fly-half this Saturday as Sharks kick off their first game of the season at home to Worcester Warriors. Katy’s positional understudy England U20s star Lizzie Duffy is named on the bench.
“Lizzie’s mentality – that composure – she delivers in bags,” Katy said.
“It’s really important we give her some experience without putting everything on her.”
New faces, new structures
Duffy is one of 13 new signings for the Sharks, along with several changes to the coaching setup.
As performance lead, Daley-Mclean has combined with former women’s forwards coach Callum Yorke in a far-from-traditional Director of Rugby synergy.
“Cal heads up operations, I head up performance,” Katy said.
“It’s an opportunity for us to bring out the best in each other.”
Katy said she is expecting to learn a lot from experienced new Performance Coach Rachel Taylor.
“It’s massive to have somebody of Taylor’s stature in the women’s game – it shows where we want this group to go.”
Eying improvement
Having finished ninth last season with three home wins and one away, Katy said Shark’s goal this year is to consistently put in competitive performances.
“For us it’s not about having a mark of a finish, but how we develop as a squad.
“Obviously we want to start to creep into that mid-table, but we’re in this for the long haul.”
Sale Sharks Women face Worcester Warriors this weekend, who they beat at home last season in match where no love was lost.
Get your tickets to watch Sharks Women in action here.
