After a hard-fought win against Wasps over the weekend we caught up with Team Coach and ex Welsh International Rachel Taylor (AKA. Tails) to get her thoughts on the first two rounds of the Allianz Cup.
She said ‘It was obviously tough defeat to take away from home being the first game of the Cup but it’s nice to be back at Heywood Road with a win. We set our intentions out to have big first half and I think we did that, and it set us up strongly in the second half.’
After a dominant first half performance with Courtney Pursglove (2 tries) and Niamh Swalies (2 tries) going over the whitewash, Tails was ‘proud to see the team come out an express themselves on the pitch’. However, towards the end of the first half prop, Leah Lyons had a serious injury which forced a change after a lengthy stop in play.
Tails commended the team’s resilience during a difficult period.
‘Credit to the team for carrying on and managing to hold Wasps out. Everyone here at Sale Sharks wishes Lyons all the best wishes and the speediest of recoveries – she is a great asset to this team on and off the pitch.’
After a strong defensive second half performance by the Sharks, Tails praised the team for their ‘desire to defend here – after conceding quite a few points away at Bristol and they defended this place well and it’s something that we are proud of. After several changes and a yellow, we stuck together and dug deep and it’s really rewarding for us as a team’.
Sharks Women are back down at Heywood Road on Saturday 15th October to take on Sarries. All Sharks Season ticket holders get FREE entry so make sure you’re there to get behind your sharks for a BIG round 3 clash in the Allianz Cup.
