Greig runs show as Diamond says game’s gone soft
THERE are few finer scrum-halves in the Premiership than Greig Laidlaw.
He may not have the passing range o Francois Hougaard, the pace of Joe Simpson or the physicality of Mike Phillips but, as decision-makers go, there are none better.
Gloucester will certainly be thankful for his contribution as, without the playmaker’s presence, the Cherry and Whites may well have been staring at three defeats to start this season; not ideal for a team that has aspirations of a top-four finish.
As it happened, the halfback, who kicked 16 points, dominated proceedings against Sale and took them to a much-needed victory – their first of the campaign.
It was not so much the pinpoint accuracy off the tee that made Laidlaw’s display so impressive, it was more the way he controlled the game at a time when the visitors were coming under significant duress.
“If we get a penalty within the opposition half, you almost assume it’s going to be three points,” said Gloucester director of rugby David Humphrey, who went on to credit the half-back’s “influence” on the squad and the performance of stand-off Billy Burns.
“I think Billy thrives under the pressure,” he said. “As an out-half you’ve got to want that pressure, you’re the one out there controlling the game.”
A win such as this, particularly at a ground as difficult to breach as the AJ Bell Stadium, also requires an element of fortune, and it came via Dan Mugford’s departure.
When the former Nottingham stand-off exited the field, the Sharks were just four points in arrears but, with AJ MacGinty nursing a hamstring issue, Phillips was forced to take his place in the unfamiliar fly-half position and the visitors’ class and experience told.
Sale boss Steve Diamond refused to blame Mugford’s head injury for the defeat, but he was unhappy that the 24-year-old was unable to stay on the pitch, claiming concussion protocols were too stringent.
“The pressure’s on the medical people under the new regulations,” he said.
“The game’s gone soft where, if you get a tap on the head these days, we’ve got to get these players off. He was fine.”
With 55 minutes on the clock when Mugford left, Gloucester led 17-13, having found a defensive rigidity which had been absent in their previous two encounters.
Scoring tries have not been an issue, though, and they touched down twice in the first half. The opener came through John Afoa after Billy Burns had benefited from a breakdown in the Sharks’ rearguard to send the prop over.
Sam James responded for Sale before Laidlaw and Will Addison traded threepointers, but it was the Cherry and Whites who were more potent in the 22.
Following Ben Morgan’s surge, Tom Marshall found Charlie Sharples with an inch-perfect kick and the wing crossed.
Cameron Neild’s try in the second period gave Diamond’s men hope, but the visitors were the better side and it was left to Laidlaw to secure the win.