Welcome back to the Salford Community Stadium where we’re back home for the first time in a month for the second round of the Premiership Rugby Cup.
It’s another Friday night lights and this time we take on our northern neighbours Caldy. They’re a local side so that adds that extra bit of spice and there are a lot of young guys here who are or have been dual registered with them. They’re also a team we know well from pre-season games, including one ahead of this season which we won 42-24 at their ground.
I captained the team in the Premiership Cup last year so it’s not a new experience, but it’s still a huge honour to do it again this year. We started this year’s competition with a 43-37 win against Doncaster and while we all felt good to get the win, it was a bit too close for comfort. I was really proud to be a part of it and we had eight debutants, so we’re all really proud that we managed to find a way to win.
There wasn’t anything specific said from my part during the game, I just felt the whole team had that belief throughout that we could win. We put together a leadership group, we’ve got Tristan Woodman and Tom Burrow in the forwards – Tom to sort the lineout and Tristan takes quite big responsibility for the defence. Then Luke James is the other most senior back along with me. We worked really well together in terms of passing on messages that we thought were needed in those moments, we were just trying to keep it dead simple and relate everything back to effort and working hard for each other.
There are a lot of aspects we can get a lot better in but we’re taking some confidence that we were actually able to come together and stick in that game and find a way to win it in the end. I think that shows a good team that you can win on a day that you’re not playing your best.
We’re really looking forward to facing Caldy tonight, looking forward to trying to level up our whole game. We’re excited to see how we can improve in all aspects, and it’s a young group who are hungry to play as many minutes as possible. We’re going to give them the respect they deserve because we know they’re going to be a physical team with a good set piece, and we know we’re not going to be in for an easy ride. We’re not taking them for granted at all.
We need to get our own stuff right to be able to chase that bonus point. A personal aim for me during the Prem Cup is to get us playing more expansive rugby and being brave with the ball – that’s something we’re going after as a whole club but I’m definitely taking it upon myself to lead that in this cup run.
On that, there’s definitely a few guys who you might be seeing for the first time that you should definitely keep an eye out for. Both our wingers – Alex Wills and Obi Ene – need as much ball as possible and it’s our job to make that happen. They’ve both got great all-round games – Alex showed that last Friday night, he’s an absolute beast in the air and Obi is really dangerous ball in hand.
From last week’s debutants, it’s unfair to pick out just one guy but if I had to, it would probably be Jos Gilmore. He started at 6 for us which is a big responsibility against a physical Doncaster side, especially as a teenager. But the way he’s stepping up, and the way he’s training – with the desire to learn and get better – has really impressed the whole squad since pre-season, so he really deserves the opportunities he’s getting now and I’m looking forward to seeing him build.
With a local element, brave game plan and young, exciting talent, hopefully you’ll have a very enjoyable evening!
I couldn’t write this column without giving a quick shout out to my step dad Dean Schofield. Dean was named in the new Sharks Hall of Fame recently and as a family, we’re massively proud of him. He spent the majority of his career at Sale and was part of that group that managed to win the Premiership in 2006. He’s always going to be in the club’s history and my dream would be to win the Premiership with Sale as well – if not more than one, so hopefully I can out-do him!
Enjoy the game,
Tom
