Sale's bite too strong for JP Pietersen's Sharks
MATCH REPORT: Sale came out on top in ‘The battle of the Sharks’ as they beat JP Pietersen’s side 26-10 in Round Three of the Champions Cup in Manchester on Saturday.
The bonus-point win secured Sale’s qualification for the Round of 16, while the Sharks will head back to Durban to prepare for a must-win clash against Clermont in the final round.
It’s possible that a win at Kings Park might not be enough for qualification if other results don’t go their way in Pool One.
Wing Tom O’Flaherty scored two tries for Sale, who had some key South Africans in their team in the form of captain Ernst van Rhyn, centre Robert du Preez and replacement midfielder Marius Louw.
Pietersen’s side, who were without their frontline stars, broke the deadlock in the ninth minute with a Siya Masuku penalty goal after some good pressure inside Sale’s half.
The momentum eventually shifted to the home side, and after a powerful maul, the ball went through the hands and centre Rekeiti Ma’asi-White powered over for a five-pointer in the 12th minute.
However, the game became disjointed and chaotic after that.
The visitors also had their fair share of opportunities inside Sale’s half, but they lacked the skill to turn them into points.
At half-time, it was 7-3 to Sale.
The hosts eventually managed to extend their lead in the 50th minute with Bevan Rodd going over for a try off the back of a strong driving maul.
It got even better for Sale in the 56th minute after O’Flaherty finished off some brilliant offloading by his inside backs with a try.
After being on the backfoot, the Sharks finally scored their first try in the 60th minute when Emmanuel Tshituka sniped from a ruck in the midfield and weaved his way past the last defender on his way to the tryline
However, the South Africans’ resistance was short-lived as O’Flaherty scored his second try for Sale in the 62nd minute.
Man of the match: Wing Tom O’Flaherty made sure Sale won that aerial battle, and he was a handful on attack. He scored two of his team’s four tries.
The scorers:
For Sale:
Tries: Ma’asi-White, Rodd, O’Flaherty 2
Cons: Ford 3
For Sharks:
Try: E Tshituka
Con: Masuku
Pen: Masuku
Teams:
Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Obi Ene, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Willgriff John, 19 Tom Burrow, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Dom Hanson, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Gurshwin Wehr.
Sharks: 15 Hakeem Kunene, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Jurenzo Julius, 11 Le Roux Malan, 10 Siya Masuku, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Nick Hatton (captain), 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 Tinotenda Mavesere, 5 Emile van Heerden, 4 Corne Rahl, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Eduan Swart, 1 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Bester, 17 Phatu Ganyane, 18 Mawande Mdanda, 19 Vincent Tshituka, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Ceano Everson, 22 Jean Smith, 23 Marnus Potgieter.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales), Ben Connor (Wales)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
