Gaskell to become Sale's youngest ever captain
James Gaskell will lead the Sale Sharks in to this season's Premiership and will become the club's youngest ever captain.
Gaskell is just 20 years of age but has said he is full of excitement at the future he can now create for himself at the club. However, some have already called the news a naive move on the part of Sale who could contend for the title this season.
Gaskell has been given the role due to his raw youth and energy, which head coach Mike Brewer believes he can spread across the rest of the team. The young man now only has a few days to come to terms with the news before the Premiership season starts.
Gaskell has a number of skills and qualities that will make him a very interesting person to watch next season. There are some obvious risks and dangers that the club will have to keep an eye on.
Skill and quality
Gaskell is physically huge and this makes him an intimidating figure on any part of a rugby field. It allows him to command an area and generates respect for him as a person and as a player. These are things that will make his life as captain slightly easier.
He is very vocal and this is a necessity for captains. The ability to be very loud on a field when a crowd is making a lot of noise is crucial because it plays a massive part in organising the team when the opposition are on the attack.
He's clearly showed the right signs in terms of forward thinking and determination otherwise the club would not have taken a risk on him. It's important for a youngster to have very big ideas when they are given such a huge responsibility.
He said: "It was a massive surprise when Mike asked me to be captain especially with the likes of Peely (Dwayne Peel) and Cutes (Mark Cueto) and other top people in the squad. But to me whoever is on the pitch is a leader. I’m just the person with a ‘C’ next to their name but there are 15 out there on the pitch at any one time."
Risk and danger
There is a risk and a danger that this could go very badly for Sale if Gaskell is not able to get to grips with the idea of being captain. He is a very young player and won't have the experience that many others enjoy. This could lead to some avoidable errors over the course of this season.
He would have been targeted because he was so young and now opposition teams will double their efforts to harm him. The captain in any side is a target and if a team can take that target out then it can have a very damaging effect over the rest of the squad.
He added: "I thank Mike for giving me the opportunity and hopefully he can keep his faith in me and I can do the job for the season. Mike has brought in a new philosophy this year and all the boys are hungry. We’ve got a lot of new guys who have come in and who want to make a massive impact."
Betting advice
Sale are a little unpredictable to read at the moment but they have enough quality across the squad to ensure that they do very well this season. Gaskell needs to hit the ground running in his new role because the side could waste early points if he doesn't. These could be points that eventually make the difference.
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