14-man Sale grit out win over Gloucester to go third
SALE, reduced to 14 men for nearly an hour, dug deep to quarry out an invaluable win over Gloucester as the battle for play-off places really begins in earnest.
We have seen so many short-handed wins in recent years that we shouldn’t be surprise but they are still hard earned and with Gloucester possessing a lethal back three it seemed likely that Sale would eventually be exposed.
That didn’t prove to be the case though, and this will be one of the more satisfying wins in Alex Sanderson’s short reign and certainly a good way to bounce back from the mauling they received in La Rochelle last week.
Remarkably a wildly entertaining first half of prolonged fifteen-a-side Sevens garnered only three tries – two for Sale and one for the visitors – and the 12-8 scoreline as Sale went down the tunnel gave little clue as to the free-flowing drama that had unfolded.
It was among other things a 40 minutes to forget for Louis Rees-Zammitt who could scarcely put a foot wrong in the Six Nations but on this occasion failed to capitalise on three clear-cut scoring chances.
First he butchered a seemingly simple pick-up and sprint in from a wonderful kick ahead by big Ed Slater; on the second occasion he also failed to connect with another chip ahead after Slater had again provided the impetus with a Waisele Serevi-style pass between
his legs. On this occasion the ball did bounce a little unkindly.
Finally, on the third occasion, the line seemed to be begging from 30 yards out with nobody in attendance when he hacked the ball way too long through the in-goal area and into the empty stands. One of those days.
As for the scoring chances that were accepted, Sale captain Faf de Klerk demonstrated typical opportunism to track Rob du Preez to score by the posts.
Gloucester responded when Jonny May, making his 150th Gloucester appearance, showcased his starting pace and try-scoring ability to beat Luke James to a touchdown which fly-half George Barton could not convert.
Sale increased their lead on 20 minutes when Reed touched down although by a conservative estimate there were at least two forward passes in the build up.
The officials were spot on a few minutes later though in red carding Rob Du Preez for a tip-tackle on Val Rapava-Ruskin.
It wasn’t an absolute shocker, owing much to the momentum of the hit, but the Sale No.10 failed to bring his opponent safely to ground. Red was fair enough.
Sale, who brought on the in-form AJ McGinty, didn’t seem too phased and controlled the game up to the hour with McGinty slotting a penalty and then setting up a try for Marland Yarde.
On the hour Gloucester finally hit the home side with tries in quick succession.
First Pumas full-back Santiago Carreras sprinted in for a timely score and moments later scrum-half Willi Heinz was over after good work from Mark Atkinson and ReesZammit, although the latter’s pass to captain Lewis Ludlow looked suspiciously forward.
Sale nudged their way back into the lead with a McGinty penalty but their heads dropped when Atkinson strolled over for a late try only for Slater to be penalised for hands in the ruck at the turnover. Big smiles, it was Sale’s day.