Ashton dots down at the death on his Sharks debut

Sale Sharks ........ 31 Doncaster .............. 0

SALE got their pre-season campaign off to a flyer on Friday night with star signing Chris Ashton scoring in their win over a spirited Doncaster outfit.

Knights produced a brave display against a squad with 11 internationals on view with the scoreline not telling the whole story of an encouraging performance which will give Doncaster a good deal of confidence heading to the new Championship campaign.

Sharks went ahead after three minutes, pushing the maul deep towards the Knights try line before Cameron Neild barged over.

Some tough tackling kept the Sharks' attacks at bay. Both sides showed rustiness and frustration led to yellow cards for Joe Jones and Ben Hunter.

Chris Ashton tried his luck with a chip and run down the left flank only for Tom James to be alert and clear the danger.

Just before half time, Josh Strauss drove over after Sharks’ pressure prevailed. Will Cliff added the extras.

Despite not registering on the scoreboard, the Knights were giving a good account of themselves.

Neild grabbed his second try on 44 minutes, Cliff converting for a 19-0 scoreline.

Curtis Langdon, who had the distinction of appearing for two clubs in two games on the same night after playing for Sale FC against the Jets earlier in the evening, offloaded to fleet-footed replacement Cameron Cowell, who was stopped by a last ditch tackle.

Doncaster continued to provide stiff opposition, but the home defence covered well. On 55 minutes, Will Cliff backed himself after a great burst from Jono Ross. The scrum-half converted his own try.

Near the end, following great work by Denny Solomona, there was a try in the corner for Ashton on his first appearance in the navy blue shirt.