THE EDF Cup hasn’t produced many memorable moments for Sale this season.

In fact, most of the club’s fans would be quite happy to forget it ever happened after Sharks’ second straight defeat in the competition saw them crash out at the group stage last Friday.

And the Anglo-Welsh competition is not any more beloved nationally - with critics seeing it as an unwelcome distraction in an already crowded season.

But Sharks head coach Kingsley Jones isn’t one of those critics.

Even though home defeats to Cardiff and Bath have ended his side’s EDF Cup campaign before it even got started - rendering Friday’s final group game against Leicester meaningless - Jones stands in firm defence of the competition.

He believes it has provided the perfect breeding ground for Sharks’ young talent, something which will bring them benefit both in the immediate and long-term future.

He told SAM Sport: “I think every tournament you go into, you want to win.

“We believe our selections against both Cardiff and Bath were the right ones and they almost paid off. We lost narrowly in both games.

“We have 30 guys in our squad and they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t capable.

“So, with the amount of games we have to play, we have to use all of our squad.

“It’s a great chance for young players to test themselves against strong teams, something that will help us out in the future.”

Jones singled out young back row stars Carl Fearns, 19, and David Tait, 21, for praise following their performances against Bath, while also pointing to the youthful front row.

Sale’s 1, 2, 3 combination had an average age of just 22 on Friday night and Jones hopes the emergence of Martin Halsall, Marc Jones and Rob O’Donnell will prove invaluable during the tough international periods.

Sharks face losing at least five key players to their countries during the forthcoming autumn internationals and the club’s young talent will need to step up to the mark.

Jones added: “It’s fantastic that we’ve got these young guys playing like this coming up to the autumn internationals.

“We are not going to have a lot of numbers during this period so we will have to call on our squad.

“But we have no fear of picking the younger guys because they have fronted up well so far.

“I have always known they were capable but it’s just a case of waiting for the right time to put them in.

“The likes of Carl Fearns and David Tait have lots of talent and our young front row were very impressive against Bath.”