Penalty try controversy as Sharks take first win at Ricoh
A CRUCIAL penalty try helped Sale record a deserved first Premiership win at the Ricoh Arena over Wasps.
Referee Andrew Jackson awarded the crucial score in the 56th minute ruling Wasps No.8 Nizaam Carr had illegally dragged down Denny Solomona just short of the corner.
Solomona looked set for a try but Carr’s intervention saw the wing being caught from behind at the top of his shoulder and neck.
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said the decision was harsh and claimed the referee had ignored the advice of video official David Grashoff after studying the decision on the big screen.
But Young said he would look “weak” if he criticised the referee for his team’s defeat. “We have to look at our own performance first,” he said.
“We were really poor in the first half and we looked really flat.”
Wasps paid for a low-key first-half effort which helped Sale dominate for a 17-8 interval lead.
Inspired by Faf de Klerk, Sale dominated large chunks of the match and Wasps needed a late charge to gain a losing bonus point.
Sale showed from the start that they were in a far better frame of mind than last week’s trouncing at Northampton.
They enjoyed the better of the early possession and should have scored in the eighth minute but centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg dropped a pass from prop Valery Morozov.
Sale’s qood start earned a 14-0 lead by the 22nd minute, hooker Rob Webber backing up de Klerk’s tapand-go to score the first try.
De Klerk, deputising as kicker in the absence of the injured AJ MacGinty, added the conversion and had a hand in the second try as well. This time it was his long pass which put Solomona into space on the right and the wing crashed through the cover tackle of Willie Le Roux to score at the corner.
Wasps were hauled back into the match by the strength of their forwards which led to a try for the bustling Ashley Johnson.
Lima Sopoaga missed the conversion but a penalty in the 37th, following a Sale penalty at a scrum, reduced the score to 8-14.
However, Sale had the last kick of the half as de Klerk landed a penalty from the right for 8-17.
The pivotal moments came in the first quarter of the second half. Wasps produced one quick attack that ended in a try for Willie le Roux to be disallowed for a forward pass between Johnson and Carr.
Wasps kept up the pressure and when Joe Simpson shot clear they were back in the match at 15-17.
Sale, however, quickly started to dominate again and their phase play generated space for Solomona which ended in him charging for the corner until he was stopped by Carr.
Judging by the video replays on the big screen, the referee got the decision right even if it upset Wasps spectators who were already protesting about Sale’s time-wasting tactics.
The score put Sale 24-15 up and they defended well over the last quarter only conceding a penalty to former player Rob Miller which earned Wasps that losing bonus point.