Sale Sharks moved a step closer to an automatic place in next season's
Heineken Cup with a victory over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium.
Sale turned on the style to see off this season's Powergen Cup winners for a
victory which hands them five vital Zurich Premiership points and moves them to
third in the league with 59 points.
London Irish were by no means overwhelmed, though, and bravely fought back to
ensure a vital bonus point in injury time with two late tries.
They still slipped back to fourth in the table, but their hopes of qualifying
for the European competition via the league are by no means over.
Sale started off at a ferocious tempo, with England's Jason Robinson touching
down after just five minutes.
After applying the pressure early on, scrum-half Bryan Redpath recycled from
the ruck to pass to fly-half Charlie Hodgson who chipped the ball forward for
Robinson to pick up and outrun Irish's Darren Edwards. Hodgson converted.
That try was the wake-up call London Irish needed. Fly-half Barry Everitt and
Hodgson exchanged penalties before Michael Horak put the home side firmly back
in contention.
The Exiles turned on the style which saw them crowned Powergen Cup champions
last month with a barrage of attacks.
Finally they broke down Sale's defence with player-coach Brendan Venter
putting Horak through on the right wing after 31 minutes. Everitt, however,
struck the post with the conversion - and Irish were denied the chance to go
level.
Sale typically bounced back when Redpath made vital inroads up field. His side
kept attacking, and finally number eight Pete Anglesea stepped over team-mate
Hodgson in the ruck to score the second converted try.
Redpatch made space forward and offloaded for Sale to switch the run of play
across the field, with centre Martin Shaw running through thanks to an
impressive team effort.
Everitt added a penalty for the Exiles, but the Sharks kept the momentum going
with their fourth and bonus point try.
This time forward Chris Jones was the man of the moment. He picked up the ball
in the midfield and fended off four tackles to score, and Hodgson converted to
give Sale a comfortable 29-11 lead.
Irish kept trying and were rewarded with a 66th-minute try. Full-back Horak
was as influential as ever and cleverly passed to substitute Glenn Delaney who
fed winger Justin Bishop. Everitt converted to make the score 29-18.
But the luck was clearly not with Irish as Sale embarrassingly added their
fifth try.
This time Hodgson was on the end of the score when hooker Richard Kirke,
trying to gather up the ball in his goal area, bounced the ball back into the
hands of the Sale player who again converted.
Irish had the last word, though, with forward Delaney crashing over for an
injury-time try before Eddie Halvey crucially touched down after 86 minutes to
secure the bonus point.
Teams:
London Irish: Horak, Sackey, Appleford, Venter, Bishop,
Everitt, Edwards, Hatley, Drotske, Hardwick, Strudwick,
Fahrensohn, Gustard, Danaher, Sheasby.
Replacements: Wheatley for Hatley (55), Kirke for Drotske (49),
Halford for Hardwick (49), Delaney for Fahrensohn (63),
Halvey for Danaher (40).
Not Used: Barrett, Brown.
Tries: Horak, Bishop, Halvey, Delaney.
Cons: Everitt 3.
Pens: Everitt 2.
Sale: Robinson, Cueto, Shaw, Harris, Hanley, Hodgson,
Redpath,
Yates, C. Marais, Turner, Fullarton, C. Jones, A. Sanderson,
Pinkerton, Anglesea.
Replacements: Deane for Harris (39), Wilks for Yates (69),
Stewart for C. Marais (69), Giacheri for C. Jones (75),
Titterrell for Anglesea (69).
Not Used: Dickens, Baxendell.
Tries: Robinson, Anglesea, Shaw, C. Jones, Hodgson.
Cons: Hodgson 4.
Pens: Hodgson.
Att: 6,078
Ref: Tony Spreadbury (RFU).
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