RACHEL TAYLOR | Sale Sharks

Welcome to the Salford Stadium for what is only our second ever game here. It’s a massive game for us this weekend as we look for our first win of the season. I think that situation brings with it some energy as well as pressure and excitement. There’s a buzz around the building with some players coming back from injury.

We feel really fortunate to have the chance to play at this stadium again. We played there last season and it meant an awful lot to the players, the staff and the supporters.

We’ve wanted to do a double header for a while now but the fixtures last season didn’t seem to work out for us. For us to be able to do it now, alongside the guys, is really important for us. We’re all massively invested in the club so to be there, on the same day, will mean a lot. It’s a sign of the progress we’ve made and hopefully an occasion like this will attract new fans to come and watch our team.

We’ve built up a good following at Heywood Road but for that support to see us playing on the big stage will be massive. It’s a chance for two teams, both looking for their first win, to put on a show.

There is pressure but there’s also a massive opportunity for us to use the home crowd and the occasion to put on a performance. Leicester are in a similar situation to us in terms of squad depth and our growth as a team, they’ve got some world-class players but so have we, and those are players we’ll be looking at to step up in this environment.

There’s a different feel to this game and that’s been obvious all week, but for us, the main thing is to build on the positive performances we’ve been putting in. It’s about turning those narrow defeats into wins and we’d love nothing more than to do that this weekend, in front of our home crowd.

We’ve had a good run of Sunday games so we’ve had to adjust the training schedule to make sure the players are in the best shape possible. We had a bye in the first week of the PWR season so we knew it would get tough in this period and that’s been the case. But last week’s game against a really physical Exeter team was the perfect preparation for this week and we’re all so excited to get going. The challenge for us is to keep a lid on that excitement until Sunday because we don’t want to peak in the build up.

As I said, we have been putting in positive performances and there was loads for us to take from the game last week against Exeter. We knew they’d bring the physicality and I was so pleased at the way we started. We scored first and that’s something we haven’t been doing – the challenge now is how to stay in the fight and not let our heads drop. The determination and the grit was fantastic and the physicality and intent that we brought on both sides of the ball was a real positive. It was probably the closest we’ve come to seeing the type of team we want to be and kind of rugby we want to see.

We know we’re going in the right direction. Individuals are improving and collectively, we’re getting better every week and I really hope you see what we’re trying to do on Sunday. We have a young squad and I want them to embrace the opportunity, the occasion and the responsibility. But I also know that they don’t need wins to motivate them to make it better for rugby in the north. That’s the remit and it’s one every single player is passionate about.

Today is a huge step forward for us as a club and I want our players to enjoy it. If it’s your first time watching this team, I hope we put on a show and I hope you appreciate the work these players are putting in.

Enjoy the game,

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