Sale Sharks 13 - 11 Gloucester Rugby

An impressive win for Sale Sharks saw them beat a tough Gloucester side 13-11 in front of over 8,000 fans at Edgeley Park. The win sees Sale move up to third in the table.

First Half

The dreadful weather conditions made the game a stodgy affair as both teams looked to grab the upper hand early on. Nick MacLeod missed a good chance to give the home side the lead with a kick from his own half but his effort fell short of the posts.

With 10 minutes down, Sale continued to pile the pressure on the visitors as MacLeod kicked beautifully into touch to keep Gloucester penned in their own 22. The Sharks pressure finally told as captain David Seymour drove over to put the home side in front. MacLeod added the conversion to give Sale a 7-0 lead with 20 minutes gone.

A few minutes later, the home side were then penalised for turning the scrum which gifted Tim Taylor an opportunity to bring the deficit back to four points. However, Taylor failed with his attempt and the scores stayed the same.

Gloucester then had a five minute spell of their own but resolute defending from the Sharks saw the Cherry and Whites concede a scrum which relieved the pressure from Sale. With eight minutes to go till half time, the game became bogged down as none of the teams could work anything in the woeful weather conditions.

Mistakes started to creep in as the game became a midfield battle with neither side giving an inch of ground. On the stroke of half time, the home side again started to make inroads towards the Gloucester try line and were rewarded for their efforts as the visitors were penalised for not releasing the player in the tackle. MacLeod's kick flew through the sticks to give Sale a 10-0 lead as the teams went into the break.

Second Half

Both sides flew out of traps as with two minutes on the clock, Tim Taylor made amends for his earlier miss by putting the Cherry and Whites on the scoreboard with a penalty after the Sale forwards collapsed the scrum. 10 minutes into the second period, and it was Gloucester who were looking threatening with ball in hand as they were metres from the home sides try line but resilient defending saw Sale win a penalty and clear their lines.

The Sharks scrum was looking edgy as they conceded another penalty for their frailties. Sale prop Henry Thomas was found guilty of illegal play and he was sin binned by the referee. Taylor took the penalty well to cut the home sides lead to four. The Sharks responded almost immediately as a quick penalty saw them drive towards the try line only to be denied by some last ditch defending.

With 60 minutes gone, MacLeod managed to slot home a second penalty to put the score at 13-6 to Sale after the Gloucester line were seen to be offside. The game was becoming an end to end affair as both sides were gunning for the win. Handling errors were at a plenty as the dire weather was not letting up. As the game entered the last 10 minutes, both sides were trading punches as the game became a stalemate.

Gloucester centre Henry Trinder then silenced the home fans as he ran over to score the Cherry and Whites first try of the game bringing the score to 13-11. Taylor would have hoped to have done better with the conversion attempt as he dragged his kick wide of the posts. Both sides turned up the wick with five minutes left on the clock as they looked to secure the win but the weather was still playing havoc with the teams. Sale Sharks held out the remainder of the game to win their fourth game of the season and continue their assault on the top four.

Man of the Match

Fraser McKenzie: for his superb work in the rucks, loose and at the breakdown.

Sale Sharks

Tries: Seymour

Conversions: MacLeod

Penalties: MacLeod (2)

Gloucester

Tries: Trinder

Conversions: Taylor

Penalties: Taylor (2)