Ruthless Warriors keep hopes alive with six-try rout as Sale switch focus elsewhere
Professional, efficient and clinical with every chance, Glasgow achieved the bonus-point win they needed to keep hopes of qualification alive.
Dave Rennie’s men required a maximum five-point haul to stay in contention for a quarter-final berth and there was never much doubt they would get it against a weakened Sale side. Fijian flanker Leone Nakarawa, making the first appearance of his second stint at Glasgow, opened the scoring inside the third minute and from there the Warriors did not look back, adding two further tries before the break.
They needed eight minutes of the second half to clinch the bonus point as centre Sam Johnson finished off a de- lightful move before two further scores completed a handsome six-try haul.
Defeats for Saracens and Gloucester today would see Glasgow qualify and head coach Rennie said: “I’m actually on a plane, so when I arrive in Dubai I’ll turn my phone on and see what happened. We need a lot of luck, but we’ve done all we can do. I thought we played well, and we’ve played really well over the last month.”
For Sale, this latest loss capped a disastrous European campaign which has seen them suffer defeat in five of their six outings and finish bottom.
Steve Diamond summed up their European campaign as “poor” and said of Saracens’ looming relegation: “It’s disappointing to know that a team have been cheating. The powers-that-be have decided that it is obviously the right punishment, so we get on with it.”
Glasgow led when Nakarawa powered over from close range and, after Sale captain Jono Ross was sent to the sin-bin for a late hit, the Warriors capitalised when hooker Fraser Brown was driven over from a line-out. With Adam Hastings converting both tries, Glasgow led 14-0, and DTH van der Merwe added a third try before the break. Scrum-half Ali Price engineered the space to find the winger and he scampered over for a try which Hastings converted to make it 21-0.
Although Nakawara was sent to the bin before half-time, Glasgow had the scent of a bonus point. It came early in the second half, when Price and Hastings combined to send Johnson over. Sale got off the mark in the 56th minute through replacement prop Jake Cooper-Woolley, but Jonny Gray touched down for a fifth visiting try before George Turner went over late on to underline Glasgow’s superiority.
For Sale, progress in the Premiership has now taken on added importance as they prepare for next Saturday’s trip to Exeter, who have already beaten them twice in Europe this season.