Joe Carpenter Exclusive: Toulouse challenge, England ambitions and a burning desire to go to the next level
Despite being on the sidelines for their visit to Toulouse, Joe Carpenter's drive for constant improvement makes him key for Sale
©Sale Sharks
Scan the list of Champions Cup Round of 16 ties and Sale Sharks’ trip to Toulouse looks like a daunting prospect for the Gallagher Premiership club.
The six-time European champions are the current holders, they lead the way domestically in the Top 14 and boast a star-studded backline which wouldn’t look out of place in a fantasy rugby game.
Yes, Toulouse will be without the mercurial Antoine Dupont but with the likes of Ange Capuozzo, Blair Kinghorn, Romain Ntamack and Thomas Ramos all at their disposal, Sale will be underdogs for Sunday.
In their most recent Champions Cup outing at the Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse stuck 80 points on Leicester Tigers but Sale are adopting the mindset of not being beaten before they arrive in the south of France.
“You want to take yourself to the next level to see if you can test yourself in that arena,” says Sharks full-back Joe Carpenter, who will miss the game due to a minor calf problem. “The lads are really looking forward to it.
“We’ve spoken a lot about respecting them as a team, and they are one of the best club teams in the world. They have some of the best players in the world but the mentality this week is not being beaten before we get there.
“We want to take it to them as well. We want to impose ourselves on them, which is easier said than done, and they can be difficult to stop but I think we're going to try and definitely lean on our defence and our physicality and really go at them.”
Sale can also lean on recent back-to-back victories against Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints respectively, with Alex Sanderson’s side now just four points off the Premiership play-offs.
Despite Carpenter being ruled out, the Sharks have gone strong in Toulouse with the Curry brothers, George Ford and Tom Roebuck all starting.
Of course, Sanderson would also have loved to select Carpenter who, once again, is having another stellar season in the North-West.
The 23-year-old - who made his first team debut in Europe against La Rochelle in 2020 - was included in the England squad which toured Japan and New Zealand last summer, but Carpenter wasn’t able to earn his first senior cap.
More recently, he has pulled on the white shirt for England ‘A’ in their fixtures against Australia and Ireland, but his club boss Sanderson believes he has what it takes to go to the next level.
“He looks more dangerous, more decisive. Joe is one of our most consistent players. He's never faulted in that 15 jersey this year.
“He's in England consideration for the summer [when Steve Borthwick’s side tour Argentina]. He's amongst a really tough crowd there, but when these things come to people who have earned it, in the long run, it seems like it's the best thing that's happened for them. Tom Roebuck, for example, look at how good he was when he got his start, and I back Carpenter to be the same when he does get his opportunity.”
And for the man himself, there’s no denying his aspirations for England honours.
“When you first join the academy [at Sale], there's a step up to the first team, and if you're lucky enough to get picked for camp or in the England A, then that standard just rises again,” Carpenter explains.
“Talking to guys like Ben Curry, Fordy and Roebuck who've been there for a while now doesn't quite do it justice to what a step up it is, especially with the training standards.
“The small things that probably wouldn't hugely matter in a Premiership week can be game-defining at the international level so being a part of that and learning and seeing how you need to be, how you need to perform, and what level you need to be is massive.
“With every season and every game as a young lad, you build confidence and start to lean towards your strengths within the game so ultimately, it’s about what's going to help the team and hopefully help you get international honours, which is a goal of mine.”
The full-back is a prestigious talent, an elusive runner with an ability to score tries and be safe under the high ball. His idol, Jason Robinson, is someone he admits he continues to base his game on but Carpenter’s drive to keep improving emphasises why he remains a vital fixture in Sale’s side.
“I love Sale. It's been great for me and my development. I'm playing with my best mates week in, week out,” Carpenter continues.
“But if you get too settled, then that's when you know the penny might drop. You may not perform, or something might go wrong.
“I'd like to think I'm pretty confident and cemented in the team at the moment but you've always got to have that thing in the back of your mind, the potential of someone new coming through who wants your job at the end of the day so I’ve got to keep performing week in, week out.”
On top of his desire to get better, it’s clear why Sanderson heaps praise on his full-back having previously tipped him as a future captain of the club.
And leadership is something Carpenter is also looking to work on.
“It's something that the club have been pushing with certain young guys in the squad, like me, Gus [Warr] and Bevan [Rodd].
“We’ve got so many good and senior leaders like George and Rob [du Preez] that speak quite a lot within huddles and deliver spot-on messaging in games and all that sort of stuff so for me, what they want is leading by action and leading with energy.”
Leading by example is becoming more and more applicable to Carpenter, who is also one of many senior team graduates whose early career benefitted from the club’s partnership with National One side Sale FC.
“I think that time in the National Leagues was massive,” adds Carpenter, who played nine times in National One during the 2021/22 season.
“During my first three years at Sale, I was riddled with injuries and didn’t have a lot of game time. Luckily, I had a season with Sale FC and played a lot of minutes. The relationship between Sharks and Sale FC is fantastic.
“It worked brilliantly being able to train and develop with Sharks, but then also deliver on a Saturday with Sale FC.
“The boys are fantastic and it's a good environment to be in as a young fella with the Sale coaches coaching at Sale FC as well.”
From playing away at Birmingham Moseley in the third tier, to reaching a Premiership final to now being one of Sale’s key cogs highlights the upward trajectory of Carpenter.
Testing himself against Europe's best on Sunday would have been a challenge he would've relished but like Carpenter, boss Alex Sanderson is full of belief that his side can go and perform in Toulouse.
“We have the mentality and the ability to match them pound for pound on the gain line and at the set piece, which is where French teams usually get dominance,” the Sale Sharks head coach adds.
“I'm not disputing the fact that it's going to be engagement on top of a level of physicality that consistently we probably haven't shown yet this season, but that's what these occasions require. It's going to need the best of us.
“They are very, very good at a lot of things and the best at a few. We've highlighted those few things, and we feel that a lot of our game model and skill set is well suited to negate a lot of their strengths.”
“They [Sale] are never better than when we’re written off but this is a time of the season when you've got to find form and keep it, and what better place to find that than Toulouse away?
“It won't just be a first half of fire and brimstone that wins. This is going to be 80 minutes of engagement on the back of that physicality that we've come to expect and prioritise for this group.
“The fact that we've been able to rest and rotate in terms of game time over the last two weeks and still get two five points back-to-back shows that we're a club that are building at the right point in the season.
“So there is real objective evidence there that suggests that on our day, we can take on anyone.”
