Sibling revelry as James brothers sink the Saints
SALE’S band of brothers launched their season with a bonus-point win at the AJ Bell Stadium, as tries by Luke and Sam James quelled Northampton’s resistance.
The best-known siblings at Sale are England flanker Tom Curry and his twin Ben, who captained the victorious Sharks yesterday. But as well as them and the three Du Preezes — Dan, Jean-Luc and Rob — the James brothers in the back line are established home-grown assets and proved their value again in this delayed Premiership opener, postponed from Friday following the death of the Queen.
Gus Warr’s first-half try, converted by Rob du Preez — who also kicked a penalty — had given the hosts a 10-3 lead at the break, in a disjointed contest punctuated far too often by referee Matt Carley’s whistle. But Sale stormed out of sight around the hour mark, as Luke James touched down and just two minutes later, Sam James seized Tom Roebuck’s offload to strike in almost the same spot. Sam produced another telling contribution as his canny kick towards the left corner allowed Tom O’Flaherty to score on his league debut for the Sharks, after a summer switch from Exeter. ‘Sam is back to his best,’ said his director of rugby, Alex Sanderson. ‘He looked slinky in those wide channels today.’
The James brothers were born in Wilmslow and developed at Manchester RFC. Asked about the importance of having local talent in the side, Sanderson added: ‘Most of that team were academy-grown and that is something which maybe has been lost in the modern game.’ After a solid display, England centre Manu Tuilagi was replaced as Sale turned the screw, as he strives for full match sharpness. Sanderson also revealed that Tom Curry and England lock Jonny Hill are set to play at Bath on Saturday. Northampton, galvanised by George Furbank’s introduction from the bench, rallied from 29-3 down with two late tries by Tom Collins and one by Ollie Sleightholme to earn a bonus point which had appeared a distant prospect. Director of rugby Phil Dowson said: ‘Sale were clinical. We created a lot of opportunities in the first half but couldn’t convert.’ Dowson expects to have England trio Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam and Tommy Freeman available in the next fortnight.