Two wins in the past three games have seen the Sharks shrug off their tough start to the season, and they earned plenty of plaudits for both their defence and attacking prowess in last Sunday’s victory over Wasps.
However the Saints have suffered a reverse just the once, and Foden is aware that only a high work rate will see this good run continue in one of the most competitive Aviva Premiership seasons in living memory.
“It was obviously a big result for us against London Irish as it left us top of the league,” he said. “They have definitely been one of our bogie teams of the past. People always expect us to go down there and put in a big win but sometimes we’ve come unstuck in the past.
“So for us, first and foremost, going there and getting the win was important. A few familiar faces weren't in the side, which meant that other people had to step up to talk.
“We put a lot of work in but there wasn't a showstopper moment. There wasn’t really a time when the crowd were getting out of their seats but you've got to win games like that and that’s something that we’ve become very good at here. Winning those games has become a bit of a habit and it’s those arm wrestle games that we always seem to come out the right side of.
“Looking forward to this weekend, I think the impressive thing about Sale’s win against Wasps last week was that they didn't play the best rugby but they still got the right result. They’re a team that are tough to put away; you've got to perform for 80 minutes. There’s no easy game in the Aviva Premiership, so we know they're going to be tough.
“Sale have got some quality players in the likes of [Danny] Cipriani and [Chris] Cusiter. These guys have been there and done it all before and as a team they are starting to gel.
“We’ve got plenty to work on from last week’s performance but we’re pretty good here, we like to think that this place is a fortress so we’ll be looking to put in a big performance and look to put some distance between us and the rest of the pack.”
You can hear the full interview in this week’s podcast, available now to download or stream for free on SoundCloud by CLICKING HERE.
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