Sale blow Tigers away
PREMIERSHIP REPORT: Marland Yarde’s hat-trick helped Sale to a 36-3 bonus-point win over Leicester to go second in the Premiership standings.
First half scores from Yarde, Bryn Evans and Coenie Oosthuizen blew away the Tigers in windy conditions at the AJ Bell Stadium.
And Yarde added two more after the break to consign 11th-placed Leicester to their seventh loss of the season.
The win sees Sale move a point above Northampton, with the Saints playing league leaders Exeter Chiefs on Sunday.
Sale fell behind to an early Noel Reid penalty and were frustrated in their efforts to break down the Leicester defence despite a man advantage, after England prop Dan Cole saw yellow for three successive penalties.
They took the lead shortly after Cole’s reintroduction, as Evans charged down a kick from Leicester debutant Jack van Poortvliet on the five to score, and Rob Du Preez kicked to make it 7-3 to Sale on the half-hour mark.
Yarde added a second try minutes later, finishing off an extended spell of possession with a sprint from the 22 before Oosthuizen dived over from close range as the home side ramped up the tempo.
Leicester were again reduced to 14 men shortly after the interval as Reid was sin-binned for a high tackle on Yarde, but only a Du Preez penalty added to their score in that time.
Yarde crossed down the left once again in the 68th minute and made it a hat-trick four minutes later as he collected a sublime Sam James kick – with Du Preez converting again to make it 36-3.
The scorers:
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Evans, Yarde 3, Oosthuizen
Cons: R du Preez 4
Pen: R Du Preez
For Leicester Tigers:
Pen: Reid
Yellow cards: Dan Cole (Tigers, 18); Noel Reid (Tigers, 44)
Teams:
Sale Sharks: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Sam James, 12 Luke James, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Mark Wilson, 6 Jono Ross, 5 Jean-Luc du Preez, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 WillGriff John, 19 James Phillips, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Denny Solomona
Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jordan Olowofela, 10 Noel Reid, 9 Jack Van Poortvliet, 8 Ifereimi Boladau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Tomás Lavanini, 3 Dan Cole (captain), 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Joe Batley, 20 Harry Wells, 21 Sam Lewis, 22 Harry Simmons, 23 Johnny McPhillips
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant Referees: Wayne Falla & Jamie Leahy.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.
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