Match Centre: Gallagher PREM: Sale Sharks 26-27 Exeter Chiefs
Exeter overturn 20-point deficit to beat Sale Sharks by one point.
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Sale Sharks 26-27 Exeter Chiefs, CorpAcq Stadium
Sale Sharks suffered a rare home defeat after Exeter Chiefs overturned a 20-point deficit to snatch a one-point victory in a dramatic Premiership clash.
Both sides traded early penalties and saw one player each sent to the sin bin, but Sale looked firmly in control when they built a 26-6 lead early in the second half.
The match opened scrappily after an early injury to Asher Opoku-Fordjour, followed by yellow cards for Tom Curry and Tom Hooper.
Henry Slade kicked the first points for Exeter, but George Ford quickly levelled. The sides exchanged more penalties before Sale broke the game open.
From a midfield move, Rob du Preez timed his pass perfectly to send Luke James through for the first try. Ford converted, and added another penalty before halftime, giving Sale a 19-6 advantage.
Second Half Turns Dramatically
Sale extended their lead when Du Preez provided another decisive pass, this time to set up Alex Wills in the corner. The conversion pushed the score to 26-6, but these would be the last points for the home side as Exeter mounted a determined comeback.
Jack Yeandle powered over from a maul in the 54th minute to begin the fightback, with Slade converting.
Olly Woodburn then cut the gap further with a try under pressure in the 61st minute with Slade's conversion reducing the deficit to 26-20.
Exeter sealed the comeback in the closing minutes when Scott Sio forced his way over, and Slade held his nerve with a wide conversion to give the Chiefs a one-point lead that they defended strongly to secure a memorable win.
Sale Sharks: James; O'Flaherty, R du Preez, Ma'asi-White, Wills; Ford, Warr; McIntyre, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, van Rhyn, Bamber, Vermeulen, T Curry, D du Preez.
Reserves: Jibulu, Onasanya, Harper, Burrow, Andrews, Quirke, Louw, Grace.
Exeter Chiefs: Hodge; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Ikitau, Woodburn; Skinner, Chapman; Goodrick-Clarke, Dweba, Iosefa-Scott, Jenkins, Zambonin, Hooper, Roots, Fisilau.
Reserves: Yeandle, Sio, Tchumbadze, Pearson, James, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, Hammersley.
