Sharks need some Xmas cheer
Sale Sharks flank Dave Seymour insists his side cannot afford to dwell on their European humbling at the hands of Toulon, insisting the Christmas period will almost certainly define their season.
The Sharks were beaten 62-0 by the French giants on Sunday but now turn their attentions back to the Premiership and Sunday's trip to London Wasps.
That scoreline will do little to boost the confidence of the Sharks, who remain rooted to the foot of the table with just one win – against London Irish – from their ten matches.
But while Seymour admits that Sale must produce a response to last week's drubbing, he's adamant that there remains a belief within the squad that they can get themselves out of trouble.
He commented: "We definitely need a reaction from Toulon. The week before was a much better performance, and for 35 minutes of the first half, the defence was outstanding, and a big scrummaging performance from them.
"It's frustrating to let them have two easy tries at the end of that half – the defence took its toll in the second half, and we couldn't keep control of the ball when we did have it – we gave it away too easily – and when a team like that gets turnover, they're obviously pretty dangerous for sure.
"I'd say it's well and truly up there for the most I've ever had to defend in a game.
"The most frustrating part of the second half is when we got the ball, we gave it back to them and had to do it all over again.
"Defence takes its toll on you – it's the hardest thing to do and if you have to keep doing it minute after minute, for that length of time and the quality of that team, and they bring on their bench of Sheridan, Wilkinson and co, defence is only going to get harder.
"The message has been 'look, Toulon has gone, this is our big game'. These next two or three games are vital, especially the two over the Christmas period. We'll take out of the Toulon games what we need to take out of it, and everyone's eyes are on Sunday now," he added.
After plenty of overhaul at the club behind the scenes, the Sharks are now hoping that calmer waters will bring an upturn in results on the pitch.
And Seymour dismissed the suggestion that motivation is lacking at the club.
"Within this team, this building, and within everyone who works for Sale Sharks, there's no question of motivation, of will or of belief," added Seymour, 28.
"Even with the season going as it has, there's been no question towards that. We've got the quality of players, there's absolutely no question. It's been a tough week's training and we've got a lot of work done, and we have to make sure come Sunday, it has to come out on the field."
