Scrum-half Gus Warr made his 100th Sharks appearance against Bath on Sunday, more than six years after making his Premiership debut at the age of 18 at The Stoop.

It’s the latest milestone crossed off in a career that started as a Sharks mascot as a child and included representative age grade rugby for Scotland and England and two international caps for Scotland last Summer.    

With strong competition for the Sale number 9 shirt he had loan spells at Doncaster to get game time and at that time was labelled as an ‘underdog’, a tag that until the until the 2022/23 season, seemed fair for a player fighting for his place.  With an opportunity to get a run of games he took his chance to shine with both hands on the biggest stage, guiding Your Sharks to the Premiership final. 

Having started 41 of the last 49 Premiership games and established himself as a massive part of the first team, Gus, 25, says he has moved on from that ‘underdog’ tag and show that it’s not all about the highlights reels. Starting this weekend. 

He said: “It’s fair to say that what I was doing before I got into the team is what has kept me in the team so I haven’t really changed as a player. I got an opportunity to show what I could do and I took it. Getting that run of games was massive for me and from there I’ve had the determination to keep improving, to play for Sale every week, to help the team and to play more games for Scotland. That’s a massive goal. 

I really want to make sure the team goes well. “I’m not a TikTok highlights reel player. I think I’ve got it in me to create something when it’s on, but I’m not that guy. I can remember reading something about the ‘glue man’ in American sport – the player who helps get the best out of everyone around them without doing all the flashy stuff. How can I get them team playing the best way possible? That’s how I see my role. 

“That said, you have to be looking to improve and develop all the time and if there’s something in someone else’s game that I feel could improve me as a player, I’ll work on it as long as it’s not detrimental to my game or how the team functions. 

“I think Raffi and I are really different and there might be certain situations where our games are better suited. He’s got a great running game and he’ll go when it might be on, whereas I maybe don’t run unless it’s definitely on. We’re different but it’s so important to have good competition and I think the best thing for the team is that we drive each other on to be better. 

“I’ve always felt that sense of competition and I think it goes back to when I was a kid and my brother and I used to compete against each other. He was older than me, he was a scrum-half as well and we used to go against each other in the garden. 

 “I think people have this narrative about me that I’m always an underdog and that I’m always having to fight, but I hope I’ve proved over the past three years that I’m not that player.  

“I think people see the game too much as being about the flashes or the big moments, when to me it’s not. You see this with the debate around the England fly-half position and Fordy. Fordy controls the game much better for me, but he maybe doesn’t have those TikTok moments. He won’t beat three players and score himself but I’d want him at fly-half every day of the week.” 

An up and down season has seen Gus take his place on the bench in recent weeks, but he’s back in the starting XV and determined to take his chance. 

He said: “I think I started the season really well. Individually I felt like I was nailing what I wanted to do even if the team’s results weren’t always what we wanted. 

“After the Premiership Cup and the Autumn Internationals I felt the same but then I felt like I was a bit below par against Gloucester and then the Stormers. I think I’ve set myself high standards since I came into the team on a regular basis in two and a half years ago and that’s how I measure myself now. Those two games that weren’t maybe at the level I expect of myself stand out for me, but I’m really excited to get back into it this weekend against Bath. 

“I’m hard on myself because I know what I can do, but I’ve got a good support network around me with my family. My dad used to play and so did my brother and they’ll give me some pretty honest, immediate feedback on what I’ve done really well or not so well. They’ve never told me I’ve been rubbish when I’ve thought I’ve been good, but they’ve always got some good feedback for me. 

“It’s a massive challenge this week but it’s a great game for me to bring up 100 games. There are a few boys who have been chomping at the bit, desperate to play. Sam Dugdale is one who was our player of the year last year but maybe hasn’t had as many chances this season because of the talent we’ve got in our back row. These lads have been training well and they’ve got their chance. 

“But it goes back to performing as a team rather than focusing on individual performances.” 

Memories of fixtures against Bath are painful for Sharks fans and players alike, with last season’s play-off defeat still fresh in the mind. But Gus says the lads are using that pain to drive them this weekend. 

He added: “I’d say that Bath are probably the team most similar to us in the way they play so it’ll be a good matchup. But I’ve got full belief in the lads to go and get the result because we know where we’ll be in the table if we do. We’ll be right in the mix. 

“I think the Bath players and fans are very confident in their ability and they’ll be expecting to come to our stadium and win. But for us, we’re after a bit of revenge because that semi-final last season did hurt. It’s not been part of team meetings but in huddles it’s been said. We owe them one and we don’t need any extra edge. 

“What would be a successful season? The ultimate goal is to win the Premiership. We have to win games and win them well to try and get a home semi-final and if we do that, anything can happen. But our goal is to win the Premiership and I’ve got total belief in this team to do that.”