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Sale Sharks’ youngsters showcased a fearless and stunning second-half fightback as they came from behind to defeat table-toppers Leicester Tigers 35-26 at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Sale Sharks’ academy is living in golden times. 12 of Sale’s matchday squad had progressed through the academy, and even without high-profile graduates Tom Curry and Bevan Rodd, who were unavailable due to their inclusion in England’s Six Nations squad, the youngsters class prevailed.
When Tom Roebuck claimed an attempted short restart from Leicester with two minutes to go, it was game, set and match for the hosts. The 21-year-old raced clear for his fourth try in three matches, this one by far the most significant.
After a blistering first six months in charge, which saw Sharks reach the play-offs for the first time in 15 years, Alex Sanderson is now battling the toughness of management. Prior to the clash with the table-toppers, Sharks had lost seven of their 12 Premiership matches, however, their second-half showing left Sale supporters reminiscing over some of last season’s great displays.
Leicester travelled to the AJ Bell, like their opponents, hit with absentees. Half-back duo Ben Youngs and George Ford, along with four others, are part of Eddie Jones’ Red Roses squad. The decision to substitute Freddie Burns early in the second half, whether tactically or due to injury, proved to be costly.
The former England international was successful with four of his five kicks, with the post denying what would have been an impressive 100% success rate. His departure allowed Sharks to take control and advantage of an out of shape Tigers backline.
Roebuck’s late try wiped away Tigers’ losing bonus point, and with Saracens picking up a point on the road in their defeat to Wasps, Leicester’s lead at the top was cut to seven.
Even before the referee’s whistle, an achievement had been hit. ITV announced last week details of a new game-changing partnership which would see four Premiership matches, and the final, shown on free-to-air television. The first was the spectacle that unfolded under the Salford floodlights.
HISTORY: Today’s contest is the first of four #GallagherPrem matches to be shown free-to-air on ITV as part of a new game-changing partnership.
It’s also on BT Sport who are in the opposite corner.
Another positive step in showcasing RU.@TalkRugbyUnion @RugbySaleSharks pic.twitter.com/UiIcabysli
— Thomas Anderson (@TAndersonsport) January 30, 2022
On a ground that Tigers have only won once on in their last six attempts, Steve Borthwick’s side showed their prowess and established an early lead, albeit with the help of Sale errors to which were punished.
From Burns’ kick-off, Sharks knocked on and minutes later they found themselves three points behind when the fly-half made no mistake with his first kick of the match. A deep kick from Burns was collected by AJ MacGinty, who on his 100th appearance for the club, attempted the one-on-one as opposed to kicking clear.
The Sale fly-half was met by the charging Tigers cavalry who dominated the breakdown to leave Craig Maxwell-Keys with no choice but to award the penalty. From the resulting lineout, Leicester formed the maul which with momentum proved to be too much for the hosts to defend and Julian Montoya crashed over.
Leicester supporters travelled to Salford in their numbers and made plenty of noise through the contest. However, their celebrations were cut short when Sharks responded with a try of their own two minutes later. Luke James, a product of local side Manchester RUFC and the Sharks academy, broke the Tigers line before remaining calm and side-stepping the attempted tackle to get Sale back in the match.
James’ moment of brilliance was all Sale could manage in the first half as Tigers stood firm whilst the hosts collapsed. Guy Porter, who scored in Leicester’s victory over Sale in the Premier Rugby Cup earlier in the season, doubled his tally against the northwest side after 24 minutes. Strength and determination saw the winger bounce off two tackles before he raced away to dive over.
Minutes later, Maxwell-Keys was consulting with TMO for a potential try after an apparent fumble in the try zone was pounced on by a Leicester play. To Sale’s relief, the ball had been touched down and the try not awarded. With 10 minutes until the break, the visitors turned to the tee. Burns sent two distanced kicks spiralling through the posts, and after missing a drop goal attempt with the clock in red, the points difference at the interval was 16.
Whatever Sanderson and captain Jono Ross said at half-time certainly worked. Sale came out with aggression, belief and quality that broke the visitors down. Despite Tigers adding a further three points to their total at the start of the half, Sharks crossed for a second time via an academy star.
After passing an HIA during half-time, Ben Curry was back as usual and smashing his way through anyone in his path. However, for his try, he showed intelligence and an air of disguise. From a lineout, Sharks appeared to be forming a maul until the flanker broke through a gap to score whilst leaving the Tigers in disbelief.
Whether Tigers’ substitutions lost them the game, Sharks’ changes most definitely turned the tide in their favour. Six minutes after coming on, Arron Reed made his mark. Front-rower Curtis Langdon unlocked a different level of pace to burst clear before offloading to Rohan Janse van Rensburg who continued to gain yards. The ball was eventually played to Reed, who turned on the burners to accelerate clear to make the score 21-17.
Bench ▶ Scoresheet@arronreed1 makes it a 4️⃣ point match
Game on!
Watch LIVE
? @ITV
? https://t.co/68lQkMUwyP#ITVRugby | #GallagherPrem | @premrugby pic.twitter.com/JOVfVhHRn3— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) January 30, 2022
Momentum had shifted, and in any sport, is how a fixture is determined. The confident and hard to break down Leicester side that was seen in the first half began to crumble under the pressure. Sale took the lead for the first time just after the hour mark when the colossal figure of Dan du Preez charged down a kick before running in under the posts.
Having led by 16-points only 15 minutes earlier, Borthwick’s side found themselves three points behind. Tigers hit Sharks with pressure, and eventually, it paid off. From another lineout, Montoya found himself in the driving seat. Through multiple diversions, the Argentine was able to direct himself over the line for the score, however, Bryce Hegarty, who had taken on kicking duties, was unable to add the extras.
The second half had sprung into life and so had the 9,000+ of those in the stands with the majority biting their nails as Sale aimed to hold onto a one-point lead going into the closing 10 minutes. Nerves were ever-so-slightly eased when Man of the Match MacGinty widened the lead to four points from the tee and their win was confirmed 30 seconds later when Roebuck ran home.
A short kick-off failed to pay off as Roebuck ran clear into the corner before being submerged by teammates in celebration.
The five points take Sale above Newcastle Falcons in the table and five points off the Champions Cup places. Sanderson takes his side to reigning champions Harlequins next Sunday before the former Director of Rugby Steve Diamond returns to the AJ Bell with his new side Worcester Warriors.
For Leicester, a response is needed. Saracens, Quins and Gloucester are all waiting to pounce, which makes next weekend’s home match against Warriors a must-win. After two defeats in a row, the Tigers will be hoping to brush aside any potential nerves in order to avoid a first Welford Road loss of the season.
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