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Jones rallies his troops

18/ 4/2008

SALE head coach Kingsley Jones is backing his players to shrug off the disappointment of Tuesday's defeat at Wasps and still clinch a Guinness Premiership play-off spot.

The 29-19 defeat at Adams Park saw the Sharks drop out of the top four and means they have to win their three remaining league games, and rely on their rivals slipping up, if they are to achieve their aim.

But the manner of Sale's battling display has convinced Jones that Sale can still be in the frame come the end of the season.

"It's clear to see what we need to do now. Everybody is still in the mix and we need to win all our games, it's as simple as that," he said.

"If we win those three I think we'll finish in the top four because everybody at the top still has to play each other and we face a key game at Harlequins.

"But our immediate priority is Sunday's home clash with Newcastle.

"I thought we played well at Wasps. Our defence was outstanding and how they scored two tries I'll never know but there was a tremendous attitude from all the players. The level of intensity was fantastic and it was the sort of game that could have gone either way but we'll take a lot of encouragement from the way we played.

"It won't be a problem lifting them for Sunday. The belief and desire among the boys is immense and they were bitterly disappointed to come away empty-handed from Wasps as we genuinely felt we could win.

"But that's gone now. We've closed the book on it and we simply have to concentrate on beating Newcastle." The only issue for Sale will be seeing how their battered and bruised players, particularly in their forward engine room, have recovered from the rigours of two high-intensity away clashes in five days.

Director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre revealed that prop Lionel Faure, skipper Jason White (groin); lock Chris Jones (shoulder) and No 8 Nathan Bonner-Evans (shoulder) were all struggling in the wake of Tuesday's bruising encounter. "I was very disappointed with the Wasps result because the players worked hard and I think it was maybe our best second half of the year," said Saint-Andre.

"The race to claim a place in the Heineken Cup will perhaps come down to one point difference and I thought on Tuesday we lost a minimum of one point.

"Now we need to refocus and just need to win our next three games and then wait and see what happens."

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