Late Porter try ends the Sale comeback after Dugdale double
LEICESTER needed a try in the final minute from centre Guy Porter to edge out a Sale team who had threatened to nick this bitty contest.
Porter crashed over from close range to quell a Sale comeback after Leicester had led 22-10 early in the second half.
Sale, who scored three tries to two, had fought back after conceding too many penalties in a scrappy first half at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Two tries from flanker Sam Dugdale raised hopes in the second half before Leicester had the final word through Porter.
Leicester’s assistant coach Brett Deacon praised his squad which featured seven newcomers as the Premiership leaders rested senior players and covered for those on international duty.
Among the seven was a new recruit from Loughborough University in back row substitute Tomiwa Agbongbon and two forwards from Nottingham in Josh Poulett and Scott Hall.
The makeshift nature of Leicester’s team also featured England U20s prop James Whitcombe playing a full match in the back row.
“Everyone has pulled together this week,” Deacon said about how Leicester maintained their winning run by adding to those eight wins in the Premiership proper.
The man-of-the-match award went to scrum-half Josh van Poortvliet for his first-half try and control in the tense late stages.
Leicester did not score a second try until Porter finished off and also needed calm place kicking from Australian Bryce Hegarty who kicked five penalty goals and a conversion.
The disjointed nature of the match was highlighted in a first half where there was too much kicking and too many mistakes.
Sale conceded a rash of early penalties to hand the impetus to Leicester who
raced into a 16-3 lead.
Van Poortvliet continued to show that he is becoming an expert ‘poacher’ by dashing away for a try after intercepting Tom Curtis’ pass.
The scrum-half had sufficient gas to beat the Sale cover for a try which Hegarty converted to add to three penalty goals from those Sale gifts.
Sale had taken an early lead via Curtis’ first penalty only to then take a backward step for the next 20 minutes.
They got back into the
match through an excellent try in the 26th minute when wing Arron Reed timed his run to link up to Dugdale who broken through a weak Leicester midfield.
Leicester finished the half on the attack and another Sale error – this time from a scrum – gave Hegarty the opportunity for a fourth penalty and a 19-10 lead.
A further penalty from the fly-half extended Leicester’s lead immediately after the break which quickly gained a riposte from Curtis.
The match turned towards Sale once Hegarty went off for a head injury assessment and Sale started to introduce their greater front row resources.
The change in personnel brought Sale’s best possession and it gained two tries, both from flanker Dugdale.
He finished one forward drive and then popped up on the outside to score in the corner to reduce the deficit to 25-23 after 69 minutes.
However, Leicester regained their composure and their late pressure ended in a try for Porter and a conversion from substitute Dan Lancaster who had replaced Hegarty.
Sale assistant coach Neil Briggs admitted his team had missed a “trick” during their second-half pressure.
“We probably missed a trick on occasions when we gained that extra territory in the second half. We maybe also had a little bit of indecision around the opposition goal-line.
“We warned the players before that we could not give them points.”