Gift accepted How Phillips scored his first try for Sale

Mike Phillips needed a gift from Leicester to show Sale that he still possesses the talent which made him a world force.

The Wales scrum-half, who joined from Racing Paris last summer, had yet to score for his new club in four appearances before yesterday and needed the lift of a first try, which came giftwrapped from the Tigers in the sixth minute. Phillips is a “unit” in the words of Steve Diamond and he charged over for Sale’s first try by producing a trademark burst through an unguarded ruck. It set the tone for an afternoon when both teams conceded easy tries.

Diamond added: “Mike was outstanding today. He’s come in here having not played a lot of rugby in France. The first 10-15 minutes he took the game by the scruff of the neck. He got turned over once near the end, but apart from that he is a solid top-class player.”

Leicester’s easy-going ways started in the sixth minute when Mike Phillips, who had his best game for Sale since he joined in the summer, sprinted through near an unguarded ruck. Will Addison converted a score which started a hectic first half.

Leicester responded quickly, Betham capping an impressive period by scoring twice in four minutes, but the Tigers never looked assured and allowed a 17-7 lead to dissolve. Sale are always awkward customers here and a further penalty from Addison put them back on course. Odogwu’s try came next and Johnny Leota showed his strength in close quarters by finishing off a driving maul.

The second half was a battle between two teams trying to out-drive each other. It was hardly appetising for the neutral, though the Sale fans left delighted. After Owen Williams kicked a 47th-minute penalty to cut Sale’s lead to 24-23, the home team dominated the next 10 minutes to set up Aulika for his try in the 57th. Addison converted for a 31-23 lead.

Though Sale lost Aulika to the sinbin for charging into a Leicester attacking maul from an offside position, the visitors grabbed only a well-taken try from Adam Thompstone in the 10 minutes. When Aulika returned, Sale quickly gained a further penalty to keep them ahead, and they had the best of the closing moments.

“It was a good tussle,” Diamond summed up. “The impartial got their money’s worth.” Cockerill said Leicester had failed to capitalise fully on Aulika’s absence because Sale had already lost a prop, Kieran Longbottom, to injury and that if they had opted for a scrum it would have been uncontested.

To finished the claim and counterclaim of the two coaches, Cockerill felt Leicester should have had a penalty try when Aulika clattered into the maul. “To drive a team 10-15 metres and not get a penalty try was a little bit subjective to say the least. But we got what we deserved,” he said.