Mike Brewer demands more aggression
Sale head coach Mike Brewer has demanded more aggression from his side after a frustrating defeat at Bath last weekend.
Sale lost the Premiership clash at The Rec 32-16 and Brewer has blamed the defeat on Sale's reluctance to get stuck in and tackle hard. Sale has now won only one match out of the last nine away to Bath.
Brewer says every defensive player could have done more to stop the late Bath onslaught. A more disciplined defence is going to be crucial if Sale wants to break the top four this season.
The Sale defence can do many things much better in the next few games. However, it's important that things are kept in perspective as Bath is tipped to do well this season and Sale is still developing.
Basic errors
One of the things that seems to have annoyed Brewer so much is basic errors made by defensive players. There were numerous examples of poor passing and poor handling during the defeat to Bath.
This is dangerous because it gives the opposition a very easy chance to win back possession or to intercept. If the ball is given away in defensive areas then it suggests that the opposition will already
be on top of the try line.
Brewer has also demanded more fire and passion from his players. Bath is not a great ground to go to at the best of times. If defensive players are nervous and on edge then errors are more likely. Commitment
is something that all coaches ask for.
Brewer said: "If individuals go out on to the field and they're not committed and haven't got the attitude to tackle
then at this level the opposition will run through you. The first two tries that Bath scored were down to two incredibly poor missed tackles. I certainly read them
the riot act at half-time and they turned it around a bit."
In perspective
It's important for Sale to keep things in perspective and not to get carried away after a big defeat. Bath is a team tipped to win the league this season while Sale is
still developing after signing a lot of new players during the summer.
Brewer probably made his comments in the heat of the moment. Sale has shown over the first few rounds of the Premiership that the club has bags of potential. The coach
has to remember that the season is long and there is still time to secure a top four place.
Brewer added: "I was just incredibly disappointed. There's no substitute for
attitude and it doesn't matter what defensive system you work from, at the end of the day, the tackle is king.
If you are not prepared to make a tackle then it doesn't matter how long you train and how hard. Defence is 90 percent attitude."
Betting advice
Allowing a knee-jerk reaction to dominate and cause drastic changes in the Sale defence would be a very naive thing for Brewer to allow. He will be working hard in training
this week to make the Sale defence more solid.
The club still has a fantastic chance of making the top four. Back Sale to win any match against an apparently weaker opponent. Bet in play when the side comes up against
one of the bigger teams. This will prevent wasted money if there is another defeat similar to the one at Bath.
If you like Bath this season then have a punt on the side to win the league. They are doing just as well, if not better, than the other title challengers this season.
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