James brothers lift Sale to the summit
Needing a bonus-point victory to join Exeter Chiefs at the top of the table, Sale duly rose to the challenge in impressive fashion.
The surprising departure of England winger Chris Ashton, who joined Harlequins after his contract was terminated this week, was rendered irrelevant as the Sharks’ James brothers proved sharpshooters in a six-try humbling of Irish.
Sam claimed a two tries and younger brother Luke another, while Rob Webber went over on his 100th appearance for the club.
Wingers Denny Solomona and Byron Mcguigan, key factors in why Ashton was allowed to leave, added late tries while Rob du Preez kicked nine points.
Before the game, director of rugby Steve Diamond, was eager to temper the expectation on his side after their strong start to the campaign. A top-four place was the target, he claimed. But there can be no doubt the Sharks are title contenders as they mixed defensive steel with a flamboyant attacking style.
Despite the loss of Sekope Kepu before the game, Irish, with debutant Sean O’brien heavily involved, defended stoutly to limit the hosts in a subdued opening.
When Solomona’s pass under pressure was turned over, Irish moved the ball to the opposite flank where a slack pass from Motu Matu’u was intercepted by Sam James and he raced clear for a first try, duly converted by Du Preez.
A strong hit by Terrence Hepetema denied Solomona a clear path to the try line, and despite Solomona’s scrambling efforts, he was stopped just short.
It remained tight until Irish drove towards the Sale line with time up in the first half and were punished when they sloppily lost the ball following a maul on the 22yard line and Du Preez was the architect of a blistering break.
With extra numbers on the right, he picked out Luke James to stroll over, before falling just short with his conversion. Du Preez, hugely influential, extended Sale’s lead with a penalty as they looked to make more of their dominance.
The entrance of South Africa’s World Cup winners, Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager 15 minutes into the second half, made the Irish task even greater – and served notice of the strength in depth at Diamond’s disposal. The imposing 6ft 9in frame of De Jager, making his debut after being sidelined following an injury in November’s final against England, provided Sale with presence and power and Irish crumbled.
Sam James dropped a pass just short of the line when he should have celebrated a second try. But his side claimed a third try when De Jager helped set up Webber and Du Preez added the conversion. And, after fluffing one wonderful opportunity, Sale did not make the same mistake when Sam James broke superbly to cross for the crucial fourth try. Solomona and Mcguigan then added the fifth and sixth.
Elsewhere, Northampton overcame Worcester 16-10 at Sixways. Saints led 13-3 at half-time thanks to a try from Mike Haywood. Worcester fought back with Ollie Lawrence crossing for a try but came up short. James Grayson kicked three penalties for Northampton.
Match details: Sport Page 17