Sale 53 Newcastle 10
By Whaley Shark
April 21 2008
A bonus point win against Falcons is vital to keep us in the chase for the play-offs, but PSA is gambling, shuffling the squad after a late flurry of (possibly diplomatic) injuries, and husbanding his resources for key games over the next few weeks. The Whaley Shark watches a gambler win big……
April 21 2008
A bonus point win against Falcons is vital to keep us in the chase for the play-offs, but PSA is gambling, shuffling the squad after a late flurry of (possibly diplomatic) injuries, and husbanding his resources for key games over the next few weeks. The Whaley Shark watches a gambler win big……
Well, it was as well everyone was seated promptly, or half the crowd would have missed the opening try. From the kick off, Charlie's clearance kick was spilled into touch by a Falcons player, giving us the lineout. The forwards drove, the backs passed, and Chris Bell punched straight through a bloody great gap to score. 5-0 after 3 minutes. Falcons had a go over the next few minutes, kicking the ball on. Ben Foden ran it back, breaking the first line of defence but then being caught 10 metres out by the cover defence and offloading to Eifion, who knocked on. And that should have been the end of that attack, except the Falcons scrum half was caught in possession, the ball went loose, and Selorm Kuadey grabbed it and crossed on the left, unopposed, for 10-0 after 10 minutes. Again, Newcastle tried to get into the game, but the Sale defence was solid and we cleared to touch. Falcons lost the lineout and conceded a penalty, which Charlie put in the corner. After three phases from the forwards, we moved the ball wide and Chris Bell crossed for another try, which Charlie converted successfully.
Newcastle did a bit better as the game entered the second quarter, keeping possession for multiple phases, kicking a couple of penalties for the corner and putting us under real pressure. The defence was rock solid though, and eventually Newcastle were driven backwards, lost the ball, and Charlie cleared to touch. Newcastle won their lineout, but kicked the ball out on the full to give us a lineout on half way. Magnus palmed the ball back quickly at the tail, and we strung together several phases to put Corcho over for a converted try, giving us the try bonus point in 35 minutes. We were perhaps getting a bit cocky at this point, and were a bit slow to support Lee Thomas when he was tackled by three defenders. Falcons kicked through, Charlie gathered the ball but carried over and, from the 5 metre scrum, Falcons touched down to make the half time score 24-7.
The first ten minutes of the second half were fairly even, with both sides making mistakes. Eventually, we gave Falcons a kickable penalty, which they took. We started making changes- Magnus had damaged a shoulder and was replaced at half time by Mike Hills; now Briggs and Ripol were replaced by Lawson and Cueto. We maintain pressure on the Falcons, with Wiggy going close from a tap penalty but Charlie then opting to take 3 points from another penalty before being replaced by Will Cliff. We put Falcons back under pressure form the restart, winning a 5 metre scrum which was reset several times. Eventually the Falcons were penalised; we opted for the scrum, and Corcho scored a pushover try. Newcastle put themselves straight back under pressure by a crooked throw in to a lineout on half way. We worked the ball to Ben Foden, who chipped over the defender and regathered, but just couldn't keep his balance, so he slipped the ball to Will Cliff, who went in under the posts. Sale retained possession from the restart, and fed Ben Foden, who jinked his way past three defenders to score. Newcastle won possession from the restart and kicked over the defence, but Selorm Kuadey took the ball and looped round, outpacing the tiring Newcastle defence and making 25 metres. We recycled the ball quickly to put Mike Hills in. Four tries in 15 minutes, 3 converted by Lee Thomas, had finished things off convincingly.
Not much to complain about, after that, really. Many of our scores came from Newcastle mistakes, and their weakened side struggled in almost all aspects of the game. However, their heads didn't drop, and they stuck at it, so credit to them. We exploited our opportunities ruthlessly, and seemed to keep up the intensity for most of the game. Even when we were well ahead, the defence seemed solid. We saw some lovely moments from the new(ish) players, Will Cliff, Selorm Kuadey and Mike Hills and, while Ben Foden was a worthy Man of the Match, I think I'd have gone for Nacho, for a real captain's performance. We have it all to play for, and I'm looking forward to the Quins trip already.
Newcastle did a bit better as the game entered the second quarter, keeping possession for multiple phases, kicking a couple of penalties for the corner and putting us under real pressure. The defence was rock solid though, and eventually Newcastle were driven backwards, lost the ball, and Charlie cleared to touch. Newcastle won their lineout, but kicked the ball out on the full to give us a lineout on half way. Magnus palmed the ball back quickly at the tail, and we strung together several phases to put Corcho over for a converted try, giving us the try bonus point in 35 minutes. We were perhaps getting a bit cocky at this point, and were a bit slow to support Lee Thomas when he was tackled by three defenders. Falcons kicked through, Charlie gathered the ball but carried over and, from the 5 metre scrum, Falcons touched down to make the half time score 24-7.
The first ten minutes of the second half were fairly even, with both sides making mistakes. Eventually, we gave Falcons a kickable penalty, which they took. We started making changes- Magnus had damaged a shoulder and was replaced at half time by Mike Hills; now Briggs and Ripol were replaced by Lawson and Cueto. We maintain pressure on the Falcons, with Wiggy going close from a tap penalty but Charlie then opting to take 3 points from another penalty before being replaced by Will Cliff. We put Falcons back under pressure form the restart, winning a 5 metre scrum which was reset several times. Eventually the Falcons were penalised; we opted for the scrum, and Corcho scored a pushover try. Newcastle put themselves straight back under pressure by a crooked throw in to a lineout on half way. We worked the ball to Ben Foden, who chipped over the defender and regathered, but just couldn't keep his balance, so he slipped the ball to Will Cliff, who went in under the posts. Sale retained possession from the restart, and fed Ben Foden, who jinked his way past three defenders to score. Newcastle won possession from the restart and kicked over the defence, but Selorm Kuadey took the ball and looped round, outpacing the tiring Newcastle defence and making 25 metres. We recycled the ball quickly to put Mike Hills in. Four tries in 15 minutes, 3 converted by Lee Thomas, had finished things off convincingly.
Not much to complain about, after that, really. Many of our scores came from Newcastle mistakes, and their weakened side struggled in almost all aspects of the game. However, their heads didn't drop, and they stuck at it, so credit to them. We exploited our opportunities ruthlessly, and seemed to keep up the intensity for most of the game. Even when we were well ahead, the defence seemed solid. We saw some lovely moments from the new(ish) players, Will Cliff, Selorm Kuadey and Mike Hills and, while Ben Foden was a worthy Man of the Match, I think I'd have gone for Nacho, for a real captain's performance. We have it all to play for, and I'm looking forward to the Quins trip already.
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