Du Preez brothers contribute in Sale rout
EUROPEAN CUP REPORT: Sale Sharks rounded off their Champions Cup pool stage campaign with a commanding 49-10 win over Ospreys on Sunday.
Sale ran in seven tries at AJ Bell Stadium as they secured a second win in Pool A – their place in the Round of 16 was already assured prior to kick-off, but finishing position has a direct bearing on fixtures in the knockout stage.
Sale controlled the opening stages and had two tries ruled out – one for an illegal clear-out by captain Jono Ross and another for knock-on by centre Robert du Preez – before flyhalf AJ MacGinty’s excellent cross-field kick to Thomas Roebuck allowed the wing to dot down in the corner and put them ahead with a quarter of an hour played.
The hosts would get over for a fourth time inside 20 minutes, but their effort would be chalked off once again as lock Lodewyk de Jager knocked on before grounding.
Ospreys enjoyed a spell of possession inside the Sale half before conceding a second try in the blink of an eye, as flank Ben Curry secured a terrific turnover before prop Bevan Rodd broke clear and unleashed a beautiful pass out wide to wing Aaron Reed who raced over on half an hour.
However, Ospreys ended what was a stop-start first half on top, eventually notching their first points through a penalty from replacement Joe Hawkins.
But Sale was far more clinical after the break, crossing twice in the first 15 minutes, through hooker Ewan Ashman and then No.8 Dan du Preez as they put an injury-ridden Ospreys side to the sword.
A number of changes seemed to disrupt Sale’s rhythm, though, and flanker Harri Deaves capitalised as he sneaked over for a try on his Ospreys and Champions Cup debut on 57 minutes.
Sale clicked back into over the remainder of the half, with Curtis Langdon dotting down following a rumbling maul before Roebuck notched his second of the afternoon after some nifty footballing skills.
A series of offloads, including a nonchalant effort from lock Lodewyk de Jager, handed Sale a seventh try in the final play of the game, replacement Jack Metcalf finishing off for his first try in European competition.
The scorers
For Sale Sharks
Tries: Roebuck 2, Reed, Ashman, D du Preez, Langdon, Metcalf
Cons: MacGinty 4
Pens: R du Preez 4
For Ospreys
Try: Deaves
Con: Hawkins
Pen: Hawkins
The teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Thomas Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Arron Reed, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Sam James, 23 Jack Metcalf.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Josh Thomas, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Ethan Roots, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Sam Cross, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Morgan Morris, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Tiaan Thomas Wheeler, 23 Joe Hawkins.
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (France), Flavien Hourquet (France)
TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)
Source: @ChampionsCup
