Sheffield Eagles: Mark Aston welcomes chance to rest up ahead of busy period

Sheffield Eagles director of rugby Mark Aston says the break has come at the right time as he looks to freshen up his troops for next week’s Easter double-header.
Mark AstonMark Aston
Mark Aston

The Eagles suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season after a disappointing exit from the Challenge Cup at the hands of Leigh, was followed up by a much improved display in defeat against cash-rich Toronto Wolfpack.

With the weekend free for the next round of the cup, Aston says the break has arrived at good time, insisting the weekend off will be of great benefit ahead of two games in four days

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Aston said: “It is a good time for a break, we just need to freshen up one or two. The long weekend will do them good - although they will be expected to do something on their own. We'll come in Tuesday and Wednesday the week after and prepare for what I expect will be the toughest game of the season.

“There are a few bumps and bruises. You would expect that but nothing serious and nothing to worry about.”

The Eagles worked tirelessly to give full-time Toronto a stern test last weekend, with Aston’s slender squad knowing they will have to be right at the top of their game if they are to topple another of the Championship’s big-hitters in Toulouse on Friday.

The rest will give some of Aston’s mainstays a chance to re-charge the batteries as they look to prepare for a tough sequence of fixtures, which includes an away fixture at Rochdale, closely followed by another home encounter against Halifax on April 28th.

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He continued: “We have a weekend off now, which is good. We’ll have put a couple of tough sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, and then go into a long weekend when we can recuperate and freshen up.

“We then come back to start the next big phase against a very good Toulouse team. We all know how good they are, they are looking good. Once we have played Toulouse, we have Rochdale within a couple of days. We need to be good, with the way Toulouse have been playing recently you have to say that they are the form team of the competition.

“Then it'll be a quick recovery session on the Saturday, and we'll play on the Monday which is then backed up with a game the Sunday after against Halifax. They are coming fast and furious now, preparation is key."

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