There was one sentence uttered on Sunday that best summed up the challenge Sale Sharks face. It did not come from the director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, or the man of the match George Ford, rather from the taxi driver on the way to the AJ Bell Stadium. He had not heard of it and needed the postcode to get there. “Are you sure you don’t mean the Etihad?”
Sale are fighting what can sometimes feel like a losing battle for exposure and for eyeballs against two of the biggest football teams in the world. They must coexist in rugby league territory for good measure and that they can feel ignored in the north of England in what is often a southern-centric sport only adds to the challenge.
