Boks score as Sharks beat Tigers to go top
SATURDAY WRAP: Raffi Quirke came off the bench to fire Sale Sharks to an impressive 26-16 victory against English Premiership champions Leicester on Saturday.
It maintained the Sharks' perfect start to the season.
With Saracens not in action until Sunday, Sale seized the opportunity to move to the top of the table.
They sealed a fourth successive victory and handed Leicester a second loss in a row thanks to a gritty comeback from 16-5 down at Welford Road.
It was a superb return from England scrumhalf Quirke, who was playing in his first match for six months after a torn hamstring.
The game was turned on its head eight minutes into the second half when Quirke broke through down the right before timing his pass to put Sharks captain Tom Curry in the clear for a try.
The Sharks had their bonus-point try in the 54th minute when Joe Carpenter made a break on the left wing before passing to Quirke, who had a comfortable run in.
Having made one try and scored another, Quirke then prevented one by scampering back to stop Matt Scott in his tracks inches from the try line after the ball ran loose.
* Meanwhile, in the other Saturday match, Bath's wait for their first Premiership win this term dragged on after their fightback fell short in a frustrating 17-21 loss to Gloucester.
Having trailed by 14 points twice at the Recreation Ground, Bath dominated second half.
Despite tries from Tom Dunn and Niall Annett, they could not finish off their west country rivals.
Two missed conversions from replacement fly-half Orlando Bailey proved the difference, with Adam Hastings nailing all three of his for Gloucester.
All the Saturday scorers and scorers
Bath 17-21 Gloucester
Scorers
For Bath
Tries: Reid, Dunn, Annett
Con: Francis
For Gloucester
Tries: Alemanno 2, Socino
Cons: Hastings 3
The teams:
Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nahum Merigan, 7 Miles Reid, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn (captain), 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Richard De Carpentier, 21 Max Green, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Will Butt.
Gloucester: 15 Lloyd Evans, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Santiago Carreras, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Albert Tuisue, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Santiago Socino, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin.
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Ciaran Knight, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Jordy Reid, 21 Charlie Chapman, 22 Jack Reeves, 23 Jonny May.
Referee: Tom Foley
Assistant referees: Mike Hudson, George Selwood
TMO: Rowan Kitt
Leicester Tigers 16-26 Sale Sharks
Scorers
For Leicester Tigers
Try: Wiese
Con: Burns
Pens: Burns 3
For Sale Sharks
Tries: Roebuck, R du Preez, T Curry, Quirke
Cons: R du Preez 3
The teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Hanro Liebenberg (captain), 6 George Martin, 5 Calum Green, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 James Cronin.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Eli Snyman, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Anthony Watson.
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Sam James, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Tom Curry (captain), 6 Jono Ross, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Nick Schoner, 2 Armand van der Merwe, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Josh Beaumonts, 20 Sam Dugdale, 21 Raffi Quirke, 22 Sam Hill, 23 Arron Reed.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Simon Harding, Alex Thomas
TMO: Andrew Jackson