As Sale Sharks Women prepare to take on Saracens at the StoneX Stadium in round 16 of the Allianz Premier 15s, we spoke with captain Mhairi Grieve (KO 2pm, Sunday)
After taking on the mantle of captain one month ago, Mhairi Grieve said she is focussing on leading from the front against Saracens this weekend.
The Scottish scrum-half said: “Playing a team like Sarries away when they’re top of the table is always going to be a big ask. We saw in January that if we take the opportunities when we have them, then they are a team that we can put in a big performance against.”
Sharks went toe-to-toe with league-leaders Saracens at the Corpacq Stadium last month, entering the break just one score behind. Although the game ended with the visitors claiming victory, there were plenty of positives for Sharks to take.
Mhairi said: “The biggest thing for us is sticking to that game plan. With the players we have, if we execute that collectively for 80-mins then there’s no reason we can’t go out and replicate a big performance against them.
“Looking at the controllables – things like our exit strategy and actually focusing on that territory game. We’ve got good kickers. We don’t need to play in our half of the pitch. Let’s put some pressure on other teams further up the pitch.”
With season skipper Beth Stafford ruled out until the end of the season after suffering injury against Bristol in January, Sharks’ most experienced scrum-half has risen to the challenge of captaining the side.
Mhairi said: “Playing at scrum-half I talk a lot anyway, so actually putting a title on it I’ve really enjoyed.
“I want to focus on leading from the front as much as I can. It’s also been great having the support from people in the pack like Nick James on game day.”
Follow all the latests game day news at the StoneX Stadium from our Twitter liveblog this Sunday.
Previous results:
22 Jan 2022 – Sale Sharks Women 26 Saracens Women 41
14 Nov 2021 – Saracens Women 31 Sale Sharks Women 0
14 Mar 2021 – Saracens Women 47 Sale Sharks Women 18
17 Oct 2020 – Sale Sharks Women 10 Saracens Women 40
