Heineken Cup Betting: Sale are value to end winning wait

Heineken Cup / Editor / 13 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

"On Friday, Sale look value at up to [2.52] to end their wait for a win."

Despite their humbling in France at the weekend, Ralph Ellis expects a Ben Cohen-inspired Sale to bounce back against Cardiff on Friday.

It was Ian Rush who memorably summed up what went wrong in his ill-fated move to Juventus. "I couldn't settle in Italy," he suposedly told his Liverpool team mates after coming back to Anfield. "It was like living in a foreign country".

Some 21 years after that failed move, Rush insists now he never actually said that. But he does admit that the sentiments were true. He was homesick, Turin was an industrial city and not the playground he'd expected, and with only Michael Laudrup speaking English and a team who were happy to see out every game as a 0-0 draw it was never going to work.

Rush's story might strike a chord with some of England's rugby players who have headed off for the riches being paid in France. While the Guinness Premiership still labours under a salary cap, and the French top 14 remain free of such restrictions, plenty of top players have headed across the Channel. But for every Jonny Wilkinson, who has clearly settled easily in Toulouse, there will be a Ben Cohen who finds there is more to life than money.

The World Cup winner is now readjusting to life in England with his new club Sale, and even scored his first try in Sunday's Heineken Cup defeat against Wilkinson's new club. Now 31, it's probably too late for him to win back his England place but he does shed light in today's papers on the problems he encountered in two years with Brive. "It was a fantastic club but I was massively irresponsible in taking my young family (he has two-year-old twin daughters) so far from home. I've come back to put it right and a happy family life is a major reason for a player doing well."

Cohen was one of Sale's key signings in the summer, but after their dramatic start with a home win over Leicester Tigers they've not won since. Friday's Heineken Cup clash with Cardiff could just put that right.

As well as a rejuvenated Cohen they will have Charlie Hodgson back from a toe injury to play at fly-half, and he will be among a group of changes because coach Kingsley Jones clearly took the decision to write off the game against the French side who are currently [5.3] favourites to win the trophy. Andrew Sheridan, Chris Jones, Dean Schofield, Eifion Roberts, Mark Cueto and Mathew Tait were all left out and Jones ordered a flight home within three hours of the final whistle.

That could pay dividends on Friday, and Sale look value at up to [2.52] to end their wait for a win. They came mighty close to knocking London Irish off course two weeks ago, and are better than their form suggests - especially with their key players back and well rested. In contrast Cardiff have lost John Yapp, Gareth Thomas, Paul Tito and Bradley Davies with injuries to make it tough for them to follow up their win against Harlequins, and they don't deserve to be [1.8] favourites.


Five things you might not know about Ben Cohen

1. Born in Northampton in 1978, his family had been Jewish until his great grandfather married a Christian and the family followed her religion thereafter.
2. His uncle George, of course, was part of England's 1966 World Cup winning team. His father Peter, who ran a nightclub in Northampton, died in 2000 as a result of a blood clot a month after a fracas there.
3. His ten years playing for Northampton ended badly when he refused to play for them any more after being overlooked for the captaincy
4. He likes Bill Withers, Oasis and Sinatra, but says he's given up playing music in the car and listens to talking books instead - autobiographies are his favourite
5. Despite playing for Sale he's not moved from the family farm in Northampton - which means getting up at 5am every day to get to Manchester for training