Old timer Ben worth another try
Sale 11
19
LEICESTER boss Steve Borthwick saw
Ben Youngs kickstart Tigers to a sixth win in a row this season – and claimed the veteran No.9 is not done yet.
Youngs outstripped the Sale defence from halfway to set up a try for back row Hanro Liebenberg.
Tigers – with George Ford kicking five out of six – closed out the game despite a late rally from Sharks.
Chuck in the season-ending victory over Wasps and it is seven league wins on the spin – Tigers’ best run since 2014.
And it sets up 32-year-old Youngs nicely for England’s training camp in Jersey next week and potentially his 110th cap against Tonga on November 6.
Eddie Jones has brought youngsters such as Harry Randall and Raffi Quirke into the camp but Youngs is not finished.
Borthwick said: “When an opportunity presents itself there are not too many better around than Ben Youngs and I think he is getting sharper and sharper.
“He did some real good things, he managed our way through the first half, and he and George Ford were excellent.”
Sale hit Leicester hard in the first 40
but lost shape and discipline yet still had a shot at a losing bonus point. However Tom Curtis failed to convert at the death.
It was still 0-0 after half an hour before Ford got Tigers off the mark. They were
6-3 up at the break then Youngs and one of the Springboks got the party started.
On 49 minutes No.8 Jasper Wiese picked up from a scrum before unleashing Youngs around halfway and he pinned back his ears before releasing Liebenberg down the right. He outpaced the defence and Tigers were in the driving seat.
Ford’s boot kept Leicester out of range before Curtis Langdon’s late score.
Sale boss Alex Sanderson said: “We squandered too many opportunities in the first half and couldn’t become dominant in the second half at the set-piece and breakdown.”