SALE’S EURO WOE
...BUT SHARKS DO GET BONUS IN IRELAND
CONNACHT 20 SALE SHARKS 18
STEVE Diamond believes Sale Sharks’ losing bonus point will prove crucial in deciding his side’s European Challenge Cup fate after his side slipped to a narrow defeat at Connacht.
The Sharks had to fight back from 17-0 down inside the first 22 minutes in Ireland and were minutes away from securing a memorable victory before a penalty from David Horwitz clinched a 20-18 victory for the hosts.
With conditions swirling in Galway in the second half, mercurial scrum-half Faf de Klerk opted to go for the corner instead of taking the three points – a decision that later cost Diamond’s men.
But the Sale boss said his side can take heart from the defeat despite leaving their European hopes resting on next week’s clash with Perpignan.
“It’s a daunting task coming here, people underestimate it, but we certainly didn’t,” said Diamond.
“We knew after 20 minutes what we were in store for. The elements were with Connacht in the first half, and we knew if we could stay in it, I thought that would be a 12 or 15-point wind that. It was a game of two halves.”
Despite starts by experienced campaigners Chris Ashton, Jono Ross and De Klerk, Sale could do little to prevent a barnstorming twominute blitz from the PRO14 outfit as Kyle Godwin opened the scoring on 19 minutes.
And Diamond’s men found themselves further behind when a turnover in the middle of the field led to Connacht scrum-half James Mitchell sprinting through a gap in the line to score.
Connacht’s Jack Carty landed both conversions after slotting an early penalty, but with their backs to the wall and the elements against them, the Sharks began to rally.
First England wing Ashton capped off a fine flowing move to dive across the whitewash out wide on the stroke of half-time to set up the comeback.
Then 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year nominee De Klerk crossed 10 minutes after the break with a dazzling move following some heavy running from captain Ross.
As the clock ticked down, Sale finally got the better of their opponents for the first time in the match with two quickfire penalties to leave Diamond’s men believing a spot in the quarter-finals was well within the grasp.
But after Springbok De Klerk wrongly opted to find the corner and push for a third try instead of going for the posts, Connacht regained the lead when replacement Horwitz slotted a late penalty.
Despite the result, Sharks remain top of Pool 3 on 17 points, level on points with Connacht but with a far superior points difference, with a home clash at the AJ Bell against winless Perpignan to come.