Faf’s just fantastic but Sale fall short

SALE 12 NEWCASTLE 13 EDDIE JONES was in Salford last night to assess England candidates, but the national coach saw a South African steal the show before Newcastle managed to steal a victory. This was a rainy and ragged occasion, in stark contrast to the thrills-and-spills drama of the Aviva Premiership’s opening round. Jones came to watch a handful of men who may feature in his autumn Test plans but he took little from his visit. Tom Curry was energetic, dynamic and aggressive in Sale’s back row and Mark Wilson, another England debutant in Argentina back in June, put in a committed defensive shift for Newcastle. Mike Haley was largely assured at full back for the hosts but their wing, Denny Solomona, had no real chance to showcase his predatory class. In the midst of so much flawed endeavour, Sale’s new Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk (right) stood out with his instinctive eye for a gap and a break, as well as his shrewd tactical kicking. Sale scores five tries in their opening loss at Wasps and there was another glimpse of their attacking potential in the sixth minute of this contest. The Sharks launched a dazzling raid from their own 22, with captain Will Addison carving clear on the left before offloading to Bryon McGuigan. The wing swerved through to touch down but the TMO ruled no try. Aside from another burst by McGuigan just before the break, the rest of the half was a mess of loose passes and fumbles. One AJ MacGinty penalty saw Sale go into half-time 3-0 up and he struck another three penalties after the interval. But two by Sonatane Takulua kept Newcastle in the hunt before their pack’s strong drive at the home line six minutes from time earned a penalty try.