Sale hit Fifth gear against Chinnor

Sale FC Rugby secured a five point victory over the visitors Chinnor Rugby in a fine display at the CorpAcq Stadium.

Sale FC took a huge step towards safety in National League 1 with an impressive victory over mid table side Chinnor.

The opening exchanges saw a combination of resolute defending and unforced errors in equal measure, neither side being able to take advantage until, in the 17^th minute, Sale prop Simon Griffiths was penalised at the ruck allowing Chinnor’s Bertie Hopkin the opportunity to kick for goal which he duly accepted.

Sale were penalised at the restart conceding possession to Chinnor. The Sale defensive effort soon reaped rewards forcing two penalties in quick succession, the latter in Kieron Wilkinson’s goal kicking range.

Captain Andy Hughes, however, chose to go for the corner, his positive approach rewarded with a try from hooker Christian Taylor, converted by Wilkinson. Sale clearly looking to play expansive, entertaining rugby were undone when Chinnor intercepted and broke from halfway.

Despite an excellent covering tackle by Connor Docherty on leading try scorer Craig Holland, 2^nd row forward Matt Postlethwaite was penalised at the ruck, an infringement which merited a yellow card.  

From the resultant penalty, Chinnor mounted a driving maul, culminating in a try for Ben Thomas, converted by Hopkin. The second half restarted with a poor kick by Hopkin gifting good possession to Sale, a Wilkinson penalty quickly took Sale to the opposition 22. A well-orchestrated lineout laying the platform for winger Paolo Odogwu to threaten the try line.

Although initially halted by the Chinnor defence, superb support from the Sale forwards enabled prop Dan Birchall to drive over the line. Wilkinson added the extra points to give Sale a four point lead.

As Chinnor tried to regain the initiative, Sale defended with discipline and determination, ultimately bringing about a penalty kick which Wilkinson fired deep into the opposition half.

From the resulting lineout a break by winger Ed O’Keeffe took Sale to the try line but the ball was held up. At the scrum which followed a superb effort from the Sale pack dominated the opposition, forcing a penalty try.

The visitors rallied with an impressive forward effort taking them close to the Sale line. From A scrum, Chinnor substitute Tom Burns broke from the base and after a series of phases the ball found Holland who scored, Hopkin converting.

Two minutes later a Wilkinson penalty restored Sale’s seven point advantage.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes, Chinnor took advantage of a mis-directed Sale lineout leading to wing forward Joe Dancer with space to sprint some 50 metres to the Sale line scoring in the corner.

Hopkin didn’t add the extra points leaving Sale with a slim two point lead.

Sale rose to the challenge taking advantage of a knock on near the Chinnor 22, winning the scrum Matt Bradley fed O’Keeffe, Sale forwards in support, Postlethwaite took the ball to the line, the drive culminating with hooker Taylor scoring his second try of the match.

Wilkinson added the extras and with time ebbing away Sale closed the game out ending up winners of an entertaining match by 31 points to 22.

Sale FC Rugby, unbeaten in their last four home games, succumbed to two late penalty tries having played three quarters of the match with 14 men, and the closing minutes with 13, the result of red cards received, one in each half.

Blackheath were quickly into their stride, winning a penalty in the first minute, kicked by centre Leo Fielding. Sale responded to the challenge, taking the game to the visitors and winning consecutive penalties, taking them within range of the posts, Calle Rivas taking his opportunity to equalise.

Back came Sale again another penalty taking them close to the Blackheath line. A clean take at the lineout by Postlethwaite providing a platform for a driving maul from which Priestley – Nangle burst over the line to score a well-deserved try. Within minutes, Blackheath levelled when winger Lloyd found himself in space on the left wing, scoring a try in the corner.

A pivotal moment in the game came in the 21^st minute when the referee saw Sale prop Joe Kelly throw a punch in what appeared to be a retaliatory act, but never the less deemed worthy of a Red Card reducing Sale to 14 men. Despite the numerical disadvantage Sale stuck to their task and indeed had the better of the play taking the lead from a Calle Rivas penalty kick on the half hour mark, the score remaining on Sale FC 11 Blackheath 8 at half time.

The Second half began with Sale’s 14 men yet again taking the game to the visitors forcing a misdirected clearance kick and winning lineout possession. With centre Johnny Leota in the thick of things, a solid ruck provided the base to feed full back Povey who in turn linked up with winger Paolo Odogwu whose powerful run took him over in the corner for a try which was skilfully converted by Calle Rivas to take Sale FC into a 10 point lead. 

Sale continued to retain their lead with a combination of solid defence and effective counter attacking when on 60 minutes Blackheath flanker Harry Bate won the ball just inside the Sale half, breaking free of the Sale defence to run the 45 metres to the try line to score under the posts. Having added the extra points, the score now tied on 18 points each.

As the match drew to a close and with the home team tiring as a result of their outstanding effort against superior numbers a procession of reset scrums concluded with a penalty try in the visitors favour taking them into a 7 point lead. Immediately following the restart, another punch was spotted by the referee who didn’t hesitate showing a red card to Sale hooker Neil Briggs.

The match concluded with another penalty try for Blackheath as the Sale pack struggled against a two man advantage.

Final Score: Sale FC Rugby 18 … Blackheath 32