Welcome to the Salford Stadium on a really exciting night for a group of young players that we have really high hopes for. It’s an honour for me to take charge of this team tonight and I’ve got no doubt that they’ll show you exactly what they’re made of.  

I’m confident you’re going to watch some lads tonight who will go on and play for England and you’re the lucky ones who can say you saw them play their first home game! I made some of my best memories at this stadium and this a big night for them because they get to experience what it means to be a Shark. They all deserve to be there and I want them to embrace the stage and thrive in the way we know they can.  

We know Caldy will pose a big challenge tonight and it’s one we don’t take lightly at all. They’ll be direct, they’ll use their set-piece, they’ll pose a big challenge up front and their lads will want to show they can compete with a Premiership side. It’s up to us to match them for workrate and show our quality. 

Broadly speaking this is the same team as played at Doncaster last Friday, when I thought they did really well against a very well drilled team. We started the game really well but then towards the end of the first half we made too many errors and found ourselves behind at half-time. It was a big test for this team because we needed to see their character and how they rose to a challenge. They did it brilliantly and passed with flying colours and they will only get better for having had that experience. We want them to build on that and use that experience tonight because they’ll need to show plenty of character again. 

Tom Curtis captained the team last week and I was so impressed with his leadership and his messaging both pre-game and during the game. He was so calm and he stayed in control of the game and that played a big role in us getting the result we wanted. 

On the defensive side, Tristan Woodman, Joe Bedlow and Jos Gilmore really stood up and took the lead on driving the defensive messaging. These are guys who are passionate about defence and all three were brilliant. Jos might be a new name to a lot of you, but he’s been so impressive in training and he deserved his chance. He plays in a different position, but he reminds me of Cobus Wiese. He loves the hard work and he only has one gear – 100 per cent. He has no give and never takes a step back and as a coach that’s brilliant. 

At times our defence was really good but our challenge this week is to be more consistent. We want to put more pressure on teams with our line speed. This week we know it will be a bit more personal, a bit more about one on one battles and we have the opportunity to show that we can be the physical side that we want to be.  

This weekend three of our lads will pull on an England shirt again as they take on Australia and I have no doubt that Tom, Luke and George will do us and themselves proud. But I want to give a special mention to a player who has received his first ever call-up. Everyone here is absolutely buzzing for Asher Opoku-Fordjour. He’s a brilliant lad but a special, special player and this is exactly what he deserves for the performances and the hard work he’s put in every week. It’s a big step up but he has the character to thrive in that England environment and I think we’ll get a better version of Asher back here after the Autumn series. 

Don’t forget that Asher is still so young and this time last year he was one of our Premiership Rugby Cup players. It shows what can happen in 12 months and these lads tonight should look at what he’s achieved in such a short time. That opportunity is there for them too and I believe they can take it. 

Enjoy the game, 

Byron.