Sharks see off Cardiff Blues to keep European hopes alive
SUDDENLY, Sale have made this group so interesting. Following Toulouse’s victory on Thursday night and the Sharks’ triumph over a disappointing Cardiff outfit yesterday, it is now a four-way tussle.
Just a win separates top from bottom, perhaps little surprise given that this appeared the most competitive pool before the competition began.
The Blues could have put themselves clear with a win, but they are now looking over their shoulder with Sale just two points in arrears.
“If we had lost, that was probably us out of it, but we’re right back in the group now and we’ve got a chance,” said Sale coach Paul Deacon.
“We play Cardiff again next week and I’m 100 per cent sure it will be a different game. We’ll see what the weather forecast says, they’re a different team on that pitch and we’ll have to be ready.”
As Deacon intimated, Cardiff will hope for much improved conditions in the reverse fixture, with the snow, rain and sleet making Saturday’s match yet another drab encounter at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Even though it is not entirely their fault, the Salford-based side have been tough to watch at home over the last few weeks, but it evidently has its benefits with the weather helping perfectly after their recent experiences.
Sale controlled the battle up front, disrupting their opponents’ lineout and putting the Welsh region under severe pressure, but they were also solid behind the scrum.
Will Cliff and AJ MacGinty dictated proceedings from half-back while Mike Haley was superb at 15, claiming every up and under that came his way.
The Sharks created the better opportunities, with Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Mark Jennings almost combining for a brilliant try, but this game was not about attacking endeavour.
Defence was the order of the day. The Blues initially enjoyed frustrating the hosts with a constant stream of choke tackles but, at times, they were too quick to rush up and were duly penalised.
With MacGinty, as he has been throughout the campaign, in excellent form from the tee, the stand-off kicked three penalties to give Steve Diamond’s men a 9-0 lead at the break.
Cardiff continued to be ill-disciplined inside their own half after the interval and the home team’s pivot was more than happy to profit from their inability to stay on the right side of the law.
A fourth three-pointer extended their buffer in the second period before another mistake by the visitors, this time in attempting to clear their lines, allowed the Sharks to secure the win.
Lloyd Williams and playmaking partner Gareth Anscombe struggled throughout and it epitomised their evening when the scrum-half had his boxkick charged down. Williams’ opposite number Will Cliff then took up the chase, showing deft foot-
balling skills to grubber through and end the match as a contest.
Blues pressed for a consolation score but it was Diamond’s team that had the final word when Marc Jones crossed to complete a frustrating afternoon for Blues’ head coach Danny Wilson.
“Sale played the conditions far better than we did,” Wilson said.
“We overplayed in certain areas and couldn’t hold on to the ball; we had no field position until the last 20 minutes.
“What they did was kick well on our back three in really tough conditions and, when they got field position, they held the ball and played the right brand of rugby.”