Sharks stay in hunt as Tuilagi and James bid home farewells

On one of the balmiest evenings of the year, Sale’s season could not have taken a brighter turn. By defeating a struggling Leicester, the Sharks stayed fully in the mix for a Premiership play-off spot and a second successive final appearance.

The bonus- point victory puts Sale third going into the weekend’s matches and they know that a win at Saracens next Saturday will likely earn a semi-final place. No mean feat, of course – especially since Saracens might need to win to either secure a play-off of their own or clinch a home semi-final – but the Sharks did everything that could have been asked of them, inflicting a third consecutive league defeat on the Tigers and continuing their own late-season resurgence.

“The last three games have been some of the best rugby we’ve played since I’ve been here,” said Alex Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby who signed a new three-year contract yesterday. “We go down [to Saracens] ahead of a mammoth challenge. It’s not just matching them emotionally – because we will – but there has to be a calmness to it. I believe we can [ win the

Premiership] over the next three years.”

The victory was convincing but the encouraging signs for Sale were that this was not even a vintage display. George Ford was not at his best – but an off-tune Ford is superior to most – yet eventually the back row and midfield dominated. Ben Curry, captaining the hosts, could not have offered more and Manu Tuilagi, against his boyhood club, delivered a virtuoso performance on what might be his final home game in English rugby.

In terms of the play- offs, Leicester’s season is over but their concern is Europe. Eight Premiership teams enter the Champions Cup but, should Gloucester defeat the South African Sharks in the Challenge Cup final, the Cherry and Whites would earn an automatic place and only the top seven in the English table would qualify. With this defeat to Sale, the Tigers must now beat Exeter well next Saturday and hope the Chiefs lose to Harlequins today. Even then, everyone in Leicester might have to become fans of Durban this month.

“The story of the last six weeks,” said Dan McKellar, Leicester head coach. “We worked hard for our tries and we gifted them a couple of easy ones. We don’t enjoy feeling the way we are at the moment. Stick with us and understand we’ll be better for it.”

Sanderson demanded “knockout rugby” from his troops but it was Leicester who delivered the early intent. Dan Cole, who turned 37 in the week, does not score many tries but even he would have struggled to butcher the chance from a few metres out after Dan Kelly and George Martin combined.

It would not take long for Sale to respond, however. The Sharks sent Tuilagi rampaging into the midfield for a line- out, flattening Ollie Hassell- Collins in the process. The wing would later receive a yellow card for his troubles – despite his bravery, he was illegal in the tackle – but the platform allowed Gus Warr to snipe and give Sale the lead.

Although the hosts never surrendered their advantage, Sale managed just one try during the sin-bin period. And it was fairly routine, with Curry wrapping around the front of a line- out and sending Tommy Taylor – on his 150th appearance for the club – down the hooker channel to score. Ford’s conversion double gave Sale a healthy lead but the Tigers stayed in touch.

A Matt Scott intercept off the passing of Warr, as well as three points from the long-range boot of Jamie Shillcock, meant the visitors headed into half-time trailing by six points. There would have been less damage, too, had a calamitous Leicester line- out not set up another Sale try. The Sharks’ handling to get the job done dazzled and, in the end, full- back Sam James finished neatly on his 237th appearance for the Sharks – and his final home one before departing for pastures new.

It was player-of-the-match James who was at it again straight after the break. The 29-year- old’s delicate grubber leapt up enthusiastically for Tom O’Flaherty to seal the bonus point.

From then, there was no catching Sale. Cobus Wiese – also on his last home appearance – won a holding-on penalty as the Tigers ran out of gas, and Ford did the rest. With Charlie Clare sin-binned and tempers fraying – Freddie Steward and Jean-Luc du Preez had a minor disagreement – Leicester managed a consolation through Martin but the night belonged to Sale. Who knows, the season still could be theirs, too.