Sale fired up after Sharks owner's 'Tuna’ jibe ahead of showdown
NEWS: Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson has no shortage of motivation ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup clash with their South African namesakes, admitting his pre-match message has effectively been written for him.
The spark came from an unexpected source. Marco Masotti, the New York-based lawyer who owns the Durban Sharks, stirred the pot on social media by suggesting Sale should rebrand as the “Sale Tuna” to leave his club as rugby’s only true Sharks.
The jibe has not gone down well at Sale’s Carrington training base and has quickly become fuel for Sanderson’s build-up.
Masotti is expected to be in attendance in Manchester, and Sanderson has embraced the narrative, revealing the comments have been tucked firmly into his motivational arsenal after igniting a brief war of words online.
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“We’ll definitely lean into it,” Sanderson said. “Do they respect us as an organisation? That’s questionable, certainly not from the top. That sort of thing stays in the back pocket. You always need something that pushes the buttons, and there’s plenty there this week.”
The theme has even taken on a life of its own within the club. Sale co-owner Michelle Orange jokingly floated the idea of becoming the “Manchester Megalodons”, an image Sanderson has fully embraced.
“Who’s going to be the bigger, better, more aggressive shark?” he said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
The fixture also carries a deeply personal edge for Sanderson. He revealed that his unwell mother will be in the stands on Saturday, and shared how a small gift she gave him years ago has shaped his coaching mindset.
“Three years ago she gave me a fossilised megalodon tooth, to remind me of the kind of shark I want to be – the biggest, the angriest, the most aggressive shark, every single day,” he explained.
“I’ll probably talk about that with the lads. There’s always something personal that drives you.”
Beyond the mind games, Sanderson believes the conditions will strongly favour his side. With temperatures expected to dip well below freezing at the CorpAcq Stadium, he feels the visitors will face a stern test adjusting after travelling from Durban’s summer heat.
“They’re coming from 25 degrees into minus-three conditions,” he said. “That’s a big adjustment. The CorpAcq at night in midwinter isn’t a nice place to come, and we want to keep it that way.”
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