Dings Crusaders vs Sale FC

Recap

Sale FC sunk in the South West

Sale headed to Shaftesbury Park in Bristol on a crisp but dry afternoon to take on Dings Crusaders for the first time in their history.

The Dogs hit the front early when a home penalty was reversed and Will Hunt made no mistake with the kick from 30m. 0-3

However, the lead lasted only two minutes as the host’s centre and captain, George Boulton, crept through a gap in the defensive line to score; Fin Fielder converted. 7-3

The home side dominated the first period of the game but Sale slowly began to gain a foothold and regained the lead in the 27th minute when, after many phases, Will Hunt spotted Tom Walsh in space out wide and executed a perfect cross kick for him to score. 7-8

With time almost red, the Dogs lost Kieran Dunne to a yellow card for a deliberate knock on, and the Crusaders took advantage of the numerical advantage with a try from Sol Taufa. HT 12-8

Disaster struck at the start of the second 40 as Sale lost Will Hunt to a yellow card and the 13 men were powerless to prevent second tries for both Boulton and Taufa, with the former converting both. 26-8

Once numbers were equal again, the Dogs began to gain momentum and, when Dings lost Boulton to a yellow card in the 64th minute, they made the pressure tell with a pushover try from Josh Brown; Hunt made no mistake from the tee. 26-15

Try as they might, Sale were unable to breach the home side’s defence again and the Crusaders sealed victory with a try from with the final play of the game. FT 31-15

A difficult day for the boys with the set piece failing to fire and errors a plenty with the ball in hand. Hopefully back to home comforts next week when we take on Leicester Lions.