Your Sharks are back in Premiership Rugby Cup action on Saturday with a visit to Championship side Caldy. Then it’s back home for tough tests against Doncaster Knights and Newcastle Falcons as Alex Sanderson’s men chase a piece of silverware.
As always this competition provides a chance to see some of the club’s brightest young talents in action. Ahead of this weekend’s game, Senior Academy Coach Gareth Harris gave us the lowdown on some of the new names to watch:
Ollie Davies
“I can’t wait to see Ollie in a Sharks shirt. Ollie is a fly-half with so much potential. He’s still only 18 but he joined us with a big reputation following the age-grade programme.
“He was unlucky with an injury that he was coming back from at the start of the season but he’s fit now and he’s been able to get a handful of games for Sale FC. He really put his hand up and showed his quality and everyone at the club is really excited to see how he develops over these next few weeks with us and the England U20s.
“Being only 18 there are still plenty of areas for him to work on, but he’s got an all-court game. He’s a big threat with ball in hand and he offers that triple threat – he can run, kick, pass.
“Can’t wait to see how he goes.”
Jos Gilmore
“He was initially left out of the England U20s wider squad at the start of the season, but he came in for pre-season here and impressed everyone straight away.
“He gets through so much work on both sides of the ball and he’s really effective in contact, not just in brute force, but in his footwork and his intent in the tackle. He’s working on being a good lineout option too.
“Jos did really well in the first block of Premiership Cup games when he got opportunities and we’re excited to see how he kicks on now.
“He’s another who will be involved with us this weekend, but he wants to be forcing his way into the England U20s squad in the coming weeks.”
Obi Ene
“Obi has had a different journey to get to where he is now. He was at university for three years and came in on trial over two different blocks. Last summer he really surprised us with how much he’d grown and developed both physically and in terms of his rugby and rugby IQ.
“He finished his degree about six months ago so he hasn’t been in with us full time for very long but he’s gone well.
“He’s a real sponge and he wants to take on information. We saw in the last block of cup games that he’s powerful, he has a great ability to beat defenders and score tries but there are elements of his game he needs to work on to make that jump and become a Premiership player on a consistent basis.
“He’s getting there and this competition gives him the chance to get minutes and show what he can do and bridge that gap between him and the lads who are playing in the first team every week.
“The last six months have been a real learning experience for Obi and I’m excited to see how he can kick on in these next three games.”
