The Rugby Paper

Diamond let down after fine first half

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SALE boss Steve Diamond reckoned his side could have won after going 19-5 up in the first half.

He admitted: “I’m a bit disappoint­ed by the result but we had a blip against Northampto­n three weeks ago when we didn’t turn up so I expected a performanc­e today and we delivered really.

“We could have got the win but I’m reasonably happy with a bonus point to be honest.”

He acknowledg­ed that Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try just before half-time, which cut Exeter’s deficit to seven points after playing into the strong wind was the turning point.

Diamond said: “They are a good side and they take their chances.

“Having said that, we stopped them playing quite a lot of rugby – in a positive way. Our defence was good, our lineout defence was good and they had to think outside the box.”

Exeter head coach Rob Baxter said: “Sale have filled a big part of that game and made it very difficult for us to play the way we wanted to play.”

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