Sale Sharks 28 Exeter Chiefs 20
Sale Sharks 28
Exeter Chiefs 20
Mark Stevens at the Salford Stadium
Exeter’s saw their unbeaten start to the new Gallagher Premiership season come to an end as a late ’Shark Attack’ saw Sale to victory over the visiting Chiefs.
Joe Carpenter’s second half score, plus the boot of Rob Du Preez, not only helped sink the Chiefs resistance in a bruising and physical encounter in Salford, but at the same time maintained Sale’s own 100 per cent record in English rugby’s top flight.
On a day when something had to give, it was sadly the Devonians who came up just short. For an hour at least, these two heavyweight Premiership beasts tore into one another, producing a compelling contest in which no one was willing to give an inch.
Lukę Cowan-Dickie’s early score had given the Chiefs the perfect start in the North West, only for the Sharks to bite back just before the break with a try of their own through Ben Curry.
By half time, the two sides couldn’t be separated, such was the intensity and desire being thrown out in bucket loads by the respective players.
Akker van der Merwe’s try early in the second half gave the Sharks the advantage for the first time, only for the Chiefs to respond in kind with a slick score of their own just moments later through replacement Sam Maunder.
Exeter could - and probably should - have built on that effort, but instead it was the home side who would finish the stronger, Carpenter and Du Preez causing the damage in equal measure.
Henry Slade - who finished the game with a personal haul of ten points - had the chance to rescue a losing bonus point for the Chiefs with the final kick of the game, but sadly his long-range effort ran out of fuel, dropping short of the target and safely into the arms of a waiting Sale defender.
Ahead of kick-off, though, the visitors were in buoyant mood. Victories over Leicester Tigers, Worcester Warriors and, most recently, Harlequins, had put the Chiefs top of the pile after three rounds.
Despite those successes, the Chiefs made wholesale changes for their trek to Manchester, drafting in Jack Dunne, Dafydd Jenkins, Jannes Kirsten, Jacques Vermeulen into the pack, while behind Rory O’Loughlin and Stuart Hogg were also afforded starting slots.
In the home ranks, former Chiefs duo Jonny Hill and Tom O’Flaherty were paraded against their old employers, as was Sam Hill, who was used as a second half replacement.
They, however, could do little to halt a strong start from the Chiefs, who took just 12 minutes to break the game’s deadlock. Having drilled a penalty into the right corner through Slade, the visitors used the resultant set-piece to work the opening for skipper Cowan-Dickie to burrow his way over for the converted try.
It was no more than the Chiefs deserved for their early efforts, but the Sharks themselves were offering a sizeable on-field threat. Du Preez cut the deficit with a routine penalty to get them up and running.
The Chiefs, though, quickly clicked back into attack mode and having seen an O’Loughlin score chalked off for a forward pass, they restored their seven-point buffer on the half-hour mark when Slade notched a penalty of their own.
Again, Sale wasted little time in responding. An initial thrust of a five-metre line-out was well repelled by the Chiefs, but when they were awarded a second go just before the interval, they made no mistake this time around, sending Ben Curry over for the score.
HALF TIME: SALE SHARKS 10 EXETER CHIEFS 10
With little to choose between either side at the turn, the two sides re-emerged ready for yet more cut-and-thrust action. The Chiefs, though, were somewhat hampered in their plans, having lost Dunne, Jenkins and Stu Townsend to serious injuries during the first half.
The re-jig of personal was less than helpful and the Sharks made the most of things as they came out firing at the start of the half.
Using the same attack mode that had brought about their opening try, the Sharks picked out at Hill at another close-range, line-out - he assembled his fellow forwards around him and when the shove came on, aided by at least three backs, it was van der Merwe who splintered off the tail of the maul to score. Du Preez landing the extras for maximum reward.
Behind for the first time, it was now the turn of the Chiefs to play catch-up. However, it took just a matter of minutes for them to restore parity. With the visitors happy to plough their way through a succession of different attacking phases, so the opening in the home defence appeared, Skinner and Olly Woodburn combining to send Maunder in under the sticks.
Exeter’s coaches punched the air in delight, such was the efficiency of the attack. Sadly, the same could not be said of their next chance when, again, they picked up the Sale back division to release Hogg. Unfortunately, the Scottish captain could not make the pass stick.
Not that it was known at the time, it would prove a pivotal moment in the match.
Indeed, instead of being back in front, the Chiefs allowed Sale back on the offensive. The hosts duly made the most of Exeter’s woes, first landing a Du Preez penalty, before Carpenter - on his Premiership debut - was able to apply the simple finish after the Sharks had created the space wide out for the full-back to flourish.
At the other end, Slade landed a second successful penalty to pull the visitors back to within strike range. However, just as they looked primed to launch one final push for victory, it was Hogg who was pinged by referee Wayne Barnes for infringing at a ruck, gifting Du Preez the simplest of kicks.
With less than three minutes to play, the Chiefs threw everything at their rivals. However, unlike the games against Leicester and Harlequins, there would be no last-gasp glory - or so we thought!
Time up on the clock, the Chiefs did get one last throw of the dice. It was, however, not the simplest of tasks. Although the elements were in his favour, Slade did his best to plunder this final chance.
In the end, it came up just short, a bit like Exeter’s performance on the day.
Sale Sharks: J Carpenter, T Roebuck, S James, M Tuilagi (S Hill 58), T O'Flaherty (A Reed 72); R du Preez, G Warr (J Simpson 75); S McIntyre (B Rodd 40), A van der Merwe (E Ashman 55), C Oosthuizen (J Harper 53-61, 69); C Wiese (D Du Preez 70), J Hill; T Curry, B Curry (capt, J-L Du Preez 46), D du Preez (J Ross 58).
Tries - B Curry, van der Merwe, Carpenter; Conversion - R Du Preez (2); Penalties - R Du Preez (3)
Exeter Chiefs: S Hogg; R O’Loughlin (J Simmonds 70), H Slade, I Whitten, O Woodburn; H Skinner, S Townsend (S Maunder 26); A Hepburn (J Iosefa-Scott 62), L Cowan-Dickie (capt, J Yeandle 62), H Williams (P Schickerling 62); J Dunne (R Capstick 40), D Jenkins (R Van Heerden 18); J Kirsten, J Vermeulen, S Simmonds. Replacement (not used): S Kata.
Tries - Cowan-Dickie, S Maunder; Conversions - Slade (2); Penalties - Slade (2)
Referee: W Barnes
Attendance: 5,500