Sale cling on to keep play-off hopes alive
ALEX Sanderson breathed a sigh of relief after his Sharks kept their Premiership season alive and kicking with a bonus point home win.
The Sale boss had to endure a tense final ten minutes as his side hung on desperately for the win having seemed well in control until the hour mark. But Sharks held out to move closer to the play-off places, still seventh in the table but just four points behind fourth-placed Exeter.
Sanderson said: “It’s going to go right down to the wire for play-off places. It has kept us alive and we will keep fighting. We are in a good place in terms of how together and focused the players are going into the back end of the season.”
Sale were without Cobus Wiese and Raffi Quirke, late withdrawals having failed concussion protocols, but the hosts took a mere three minutes to find a straight forward route through the visitors’ defence and over their line.
Powerful Dan du Preez, one of four Du Preez in the starting XV, took a pass in the centre of the field and ploughed his way through a gap. He lengthened his stride leaving rivals flagging in his wake before off-loading to Faf De Klerk who stepped quickly through the gears and across for the opening try.
Gloucester began to get control of the ball and their tried and trusted lineout
and driving maul finished with hooker Santiago Socino rising to claim the try with George Barton adding the extras.
AJ MacGinty compensated for letting slip an earlier try-scoring chance by taking the ball at full speed close to the Gloucester line and diving over for a fine try. He received a
painful blow to his right knee in the process and needed treatment while De Klerk converted.
However, Gloucester’s pack already had the key to opening the door to the Sharks line and they used it to good use after half an hour with yet another destructive driving maul pushing the men in blue
back across that line and Socino celebrated his second try.
MacGinty’s injury forced him out of the game five minutes later after taking a second blow to the same leg and Sam Hill, another late call-up to the bench, replaced him.
Heavy Sale pressure saw Dan du Preez surge to inches of the line before JP du Preez completed the job by bull-dozing his way across. His fellow lock Jean-Luc du Preez did exactly the same four minutes into the second half to give the hosts some breathing space and a 14 point advantage with de Klerk’s conversion.
Just when it looked like
Sharks would cross for a fifth try, de Klerk’s pass out wide was intercepted by juggling replacement Charlie Chapman and the scrum-half sprinted almost the full length of the field to reduced the deficit untouched.
The fightback had begun and young back Louis Hillman-Cooper enjoyed a dream Premiership debut from the bench. Just five minutes after entering the battle, he took a pass in his stride and reached out a long arm to ground the ball for a fine try. Barton’s conversion left the visitors just two points behind their rivals with 12 minutes remaining.
Sharks needed to call upon all their physical reserves and fighting spirit to defy a pumped up Cherry and Whites, and cling on to a crucial victory in their bid to reach the top four.