Match Report

Sale victorious in the mud

Having beaten Hinckley in the battle of the top two last week, Sale took on Tynedale, the last team they had tasted defeat against back in October.

The visitors started the game well but missed a kickable penalty, and when Chris Johnson was given a similar opportunity at the other end, he made no mistake to put the blue and whites in front.

Sale quickly began to build momentum and it came as no surprise when Matt Bradley slithered through a gap in the defensive line to dive in under the posts with Chris Johnson adding the extras.

The pitch was already cutting up badly, which made the next score even more remarkable, as Jonty Rawcliffe reached his own up and under first and showed superb footie skills before touching down under the posts.

The home side’s dominance, particularly in the scrum, was rewarded when Chris Johnson converted another penalty just before half time to put the hosts in a strong position.

HT Sale 20 Tynedale 0

Sale came out for the second half in their fluorescent change strip which made identification, if not ball handling, a little easier in the increasingly deteriorating conditions.

The forwards in particular were putting in a herculean effort and this eventually paid dividends when Tom Ailes, who had literally been on the pitch for seconds, picked up from the base of a scrum and left everybody in his wake as he sprinted in for a third try.

The fourth arrived shortly afterwards as Tynedale again struggled to compete at the scrum and the referee had no option but to award a penalty try.

The men from the North East did eventually get on the scoresheet with two late unconverted tries of their own but the game was long gone as Sale secured their 13^th straight win to cement their position as league leaders.

FT Sale 34 Tynedale 10

 

Highlight Video

Our Team

On a day where we welcomed over 1000 people to Heywood road to see our new signing and experience our new “Suite @Sale” we also had the small issue of trying to overcome Sedgely Tigers who were riding high and had given Sale FC a lesson when we visited them earlier in the season.

Sale are often criticised from the outside as being all about the 1st team with no depth to the club.  In the past this might have been true, but the last two years since Jonathan Keep and Tote Howcroft stepped in to take over the 1st team, there’s been a change in the club.  Starting with the Minis and Juniors and finishing with senior players who have shown commitment to the club above and beyond the call of duty.  For the first time in years, we’ve seen players turn up when they don’t have to, helping with coaching kids, supporting the club and bringing ideas forward to help grow everything. For a great example of this , please have a look at this clip of Chris Mayor who played at Sale Sharks (scoring in the premiership final), Northampton Saints, Wigan RL, Wasps and The Barbarians, he could cruise through a game like this, but he is still throwing himself around for the cause both in attack and defence.

Chris Mayor Makes His Presence Known

The day started off with a sit down pre-match lunch in our amazing new Suite @Sale.  Followed by the introduction of Tricky The Mutt, we then had a titanic struggle between a determined Sedgley Tigers and a Sale FC team with the best defensive record in National League Rugby.  In the first half each team tested the other for long periods.  Very few real try scoring opportunities occurred, apart from an early break by Anthony Bingham. The forwards did a great job with some powerful rolling mauls, putting Tigers on the back foot and with Chris Johnson slotting two penalties easily, Sale were soon 6-0 up.  Sedgley got one back to bring us in at half time 6-3.

The game was an arm wrestle for a full 60 minutes with Sedgley having large periods of possession testing Sale’s resolute defence time and time again.  A series of five metre scrums at the far end of the field showed how determined Sale were to keep Tigers from crossing the line.  One infringement too many saw Tigers get a reward for an offside, with a penalty taken in front of the posts to bring us to 6-6.

This seemed to spark Sale into life and the forwards took over.  Given the heavy conditions, the pick and go seemed to be the best option and with that approach Sale gained a penalty for an infringement directly in front of the new development.  Sale kicked for touch and a driving maul guided Dan Birchall (arguably the player of the season so far) over the line in front of the crowd on the balcony.  The atmosphere was electric and the sound deafening. The try was converted by the Chris Johnson. Sale FC 13 Tigers 6.

Fifteen minutes later off the back of a rolling maul, Jake Barron (back from concussion) stepped and went in from 20 metres to give Sedgley a mountain to climb with time running out. The conversion by Chris Johnson put Sale 14 points ahead and the game was looking all but over when an uncharacteristic mistake lead to Sedgley pouncing on a loose kick and running it back in under the posts. Sale 20 Tigers 13.

Fortunately time was up on the clock and the celebrations began.  We’ve climbed from 5th to 2nd in the league in the past few weeks and have a game in hand over the league leaders Hinckley.

2017 has been an amazing year at Heywood road where we’ve not lost a single league game. This is truly a remarkable achievement for a team who were close to relegation in 2016.

Bring on 2018!

Sale FC vs Sedgley Tigers Highlights