In 16 attempts to date, the Sharks have yet to record a single win at Newcastle, which remains the only Premiership ground Philippe Saint-Andre's side have failed to conquer.
It's a wretched record and one that has increasingly baffled everyone connected with the Edgeley Park outfit.
However, this year arguably represents Sale's best-ever shot at finally scratching their North Eastern itch with Newcastle now shorn of two of their key performers from the past few years - England players Toby Flood and Mathew Tait - the latter having switched to Sale in the summer.
Click on the video link to the right to watch a Philippe Saint Andre interview, courtesy of Channel M's Talking Sharks show.
As a result, it's no surprise to find the bookies have tagged Newcastle as firm favourites for relegation this season.
But that holds no water with Sale head coach Kingsley Jones.
Despite the departure of Tait, and Flood, he insists Newcastle remain a force to be reckoned with and that if Sale are to lay down a marker to the rest of the Guinness Premiership, the Sharks will have to be on their A game this Sunday.
"It represents a great challenge to try and achieve a first win away at Kingston Park and to be honest, we've all become fed-up with waiting for it," admitted Jones.
Occasions
"We've come close on a couple of occasions since I have been here but on our last couple of trips north we have been nowhere near them to be honest and have been very poor.
"There's no excuses this time out. If everybody works hard for the team, then we can do the job. But we need to be aware that they are still a well-organised side and have still got some very talented players.
"And I don't buy for one minute some of the talk that's going round, pinning them down as a poor side.
"Looking at our record there, maybe it's become a mental thing. Certainly, if you have been here 16 years it will have been! But perhaps the longer the run has gone, maybe it has begun to prey on people's minds.
"But for me Newcastle has always been a very tough place. Gloucester's Kingsholm ground is the same, as is Welford Road at Leicester, and our own Edgeley Park is no different.
"So our discipline has to be very good. as we're always going to be penalised more than the home side. We're going to try to avoid picking up a yellow card there.
"Sale v Newcastle has always traditionally been a good, entertaining game because we have tended to buy into throwing the ball around. But if you get sucked into playing that type of game at Kingston Park more often than not you will come second, as we have found out to our cost in the past.
"At the moment we are just focused on this game as it's so big but it's vital that we build up some confidence.
"Everyone is saying what a great team we have. Well so far, we haven't. Instead, we've got great players and we need to mould them into a team that can challenge the best."
What is your prediction for the game? Have your say.
You need Flash player 8+ and JavaScript enabled to view this video.
460
275
0
false
Tweet
