The pressure people put on themselves and the rivalry between the teams is much more marked. And I think that's a good thing. As long as that rivalry remains within the spirit of competition, it con only spur everyone on.

- Eric Cantona

South Manchester Hockey Club will play Sale in a friendly fixture on Saturday, 15th August 2015. The match will be held at Trinity Sports Centre, with Push-back set for 13:00.

The Bees have a friendly rivalry with neighbours Sale which started back in 2011/12 when the two clubs went head-to-head for the Division 10S Championship. While Sale triumphed that season on Goal Difference (Sale's GD of +67 narrowly beating the Bees GD of +58, both teams on 43 points), a league restructuring meant that both teams were promoted, allowing the rivalry to continue.

The 2012/2013 season was less successful for South Manchester, finishing 10 points behind Sale, who claimed the Division 8SE title. Unfortunately, further league restructuring saw South Manchester moved into the Northern half of the league structure, whilst Sale remained in the South, which put an end to what had looked like a promising rivalry.

The head-to-head between South Manchester and Sale 3s is currently tied at two games each, and with South Manchester's 4-1 victory back in 2012 being the only victory by more than one goal, this friendly promises to be yet another close encounter.