Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Sale Sharks: Raffi Quirke and Sam James on Sale's fight for Manchester limelight

Written by 
Published in Rugby
Friday, 12 May 2023 01:02

Football and music. Raffi Quirke doesn't need reminding of Manchester's twin obsessions.

"When Cristiano Ronaldo first came back to United and scored you could hear the crowd shouting 'Siu!' from my house," the Sale scrum-half tells BBC Sport.

"When there are gigs at Old Trafford or the cricket ground, it is super loud, you can hear it from the back garden."

It doesn't stop there.

Manchester United legend George Best's first digs were in his same Chorlton suburb. Factory Records boss Tony Wilson's final resting place is in the local cemetery. The Bee Gees went to primary school down the road. 'Busby babe' Duncan Edwards played tennis in the park.

As a teenager, Quirke played football for a local team. He still goes to watch United from time to time. His group chat gets lively when they play.

But his path was always going to be different.

Quirke's uncle Patrick played for Sale back in the amateur days. As a kid, Quirke would read the match reports his grandmother had framed on the wall.

When a five-year-old Quirke was taken down to local club Broughton Park, his father Saul was enthusiastic enough to offer to coach the team.

What the Quirkes found was a seam of unrefined talent.

"We had a group of lads who probably hadn't played much rugby from a lot of random places and loads of different backgrounds," remembers Quirke.

"Lads would turn up just before kick-off with no boots and my dad would have to try and sort them out.

"But it was a class team. When we were younger we had an unbeaten season and scored hundreds of tries.

"There was so much potential there, some unbelievable players. Kofi Reid was this rapid winger; tall, quite lean, skinny.

"You would never know when he was gong to turn up at a game.

"We played against Manchester Rugby Club one time. He turned up and scored a length-of-the-field try, running past these proper rugby players who played at school all the time, who were in Sale Academy and the like, with his middle finger up, because he didn't care.

"One of the boys was called Kieran Brodie, he's moved to Australia now, but he was so solid, he would run through a brick wall.

"I will never forget that group of players, even though we didn't win every week when we got older, they are all still my brothers.

"So many of them, with proper coaching and probably better lifestyle choices sometimes, could go really far."

As he got older Quirke realised why, perhaps, they hadn't.

In England age-grade squads, Quirke found he was one of the few players still at state school.

For others, money ironed out the difficulties that hampered his Broughton Park team-mates.

"Some kids could ask their parents for this or that, whatever they want, but the lads at Broughton Park would have to work really hard, earn money and that sort of thing," he remembers.

"There were other distractions in their lives. Some would have younger siblings they would have to look after on a weekend while their parents worked, so weren't available for games.

"It wasn't necessarily trouble or anything, just sometimes they had to be father figures."

At 16, Quirke had the option to leave Manchester behind and take up rugby scholarship offers from several boarding schools. He didn't take long to make his decision.

"It was quite straightforward," he says. "I visited a few places, but I spoke with my dad, and I wanted to make it without going through a private school.

"I wanted to go my route instead so that other people can do the same, so my little brother doesn't think he has to go to Kirkham or Sedbergh or wherever to make it as a professional rugby player."

Quirke says representing Manchester, Chorlton and his old team-mates on the pitch hasn't been a motivation so far in his career.

"Now you say it though, I will probably think about it a little bit more."

This weekend it will be hard to ignore. Sale are the sole northern representative in the Premiership semi-finals.

If they beat defending champions Leicester at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday, they will be in the final for the first time since Jason Robinson and Sebastien Chabal lifted the trophy for Sale in 2006.

Quirke, only four at the time, doesn't remember that day. But team-mate Sam James does. Vividly.

James was a ball boy at Edgeley Park - Sale's previous home - on the night of their 2006 semi-final win over Wasps.

"I did it for three years down there and my last was the year they won it," says James.

"I grew up idolising those guys, stood at the side of the pitch, drying balls for them, looking at them towering over me and thinking 'that is where I want to be one day'."

James was born a mile down the road from Quirke. He too chose to stay in his city and at his school.

Considering the infrequency of England matches away from Twickenham - there have been two in Manchester in Quirke's lifetime and he attended both - Sale are critical in spreading the game in the north-west.

"With Worcester and Wasps gone, it is a big gulf between the north and south now," James adds.

"It is a massive thing for us to create a community. We want to be a powerhouse up here, we want to inspire the next generation and nothing grabs attention more than winning a trophy."

In Manchester, where football and music dominate and the distractions are many, silverware is the currency that cuts through. This year, Sale aim to deliver.

Read 189 times

Soccer

Liverpool, Utd campaign to combat tragedy abuse

Liverpool, Utd campaign to combat tragedy abuse

EmailPrintLiverpool and Manchester United have jointly launched an education programme through their...

Breaking down the Premier League title race, and why Arsenal could edge Man City

Breaking down the Premier League title race, and why Arsenal could edge Man City

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsHollywood might struggle to match what looks like being an edge-of-...

Sources: Giroud finalizing DP deal with LAFC

Sources: Giroud finalizing DP deal with LAFC

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMLS side LAFC is finalizing a deal with AC Milan and France interna...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

Basketball

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDenver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said Wednesday night that...

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOKLAHOMA CITY -- Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, front offic...

Baseball

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics outfielder Miguel Andujar had surgery...

Boone to Soto: Don't defer to Yankees veterans

Boone to Soto: Don't defer to Yankees veterans

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOn the eve of the New York Yankees' season opener at Minute Maid Pa...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated