SHARKS EDGE OUT TIGERS
An expectant and convivial Edgeley Park greeted Leicester, and on a fresh but icy afternoon in Stockport, their hosts – Sale Sharks – grafted well to eek out their first defeat of the Tigers since their play-off final at Twickenham back in May 2006.
The score on that occasion was 45-20 but the Tigers had beaten the Sharks in their next four meetings. Sale came close in the same fixture last season but a last-minute Sam Vesty try took Leicester to 26-25 up.
Much of the pre-match hype, of the televised game that had been sold out weeks before, had been about the head-to-head between All Black centres Luke McAlister – who had made his try-scoring home debut for the Sharks the week previous against Bayonne – and Leicester’s Aaron Mauger.
In truth, the contributions of the men inside them – fly-halves Charlie Hodgson and Andy Goode respectively – proved more significant. With all the excitement about Wasps’ 20-year-old stand-off Danny Cipriani, these two England internationals quietly proved their worth, with assured, no-frills performances from hand and boot. Hodgson, however, won the battle, as Goode missed four out of seven crucial penalties.
Only 25 days before had the Tigers thrashed Sale 32-8 in the EDF Energy Cup at Welfare Road, but Sale on home turf are a different beast. Coach Philippe Saint Andre had called for the ‘16th man’ to make himself be known, and his wish was granted.
A full complement of 10,872 cheered and jeered in equal measure in this scrappy match – Sale’s last at home in 2007. It caught fire minutes before the interval and only rekindled in the 65th minute when Goode knocked over another penalty to tie the scores at 14.
Sale should have been tucking into their half-time oranges 14-3 up after Rory Lamont had belly-flopped over in the left corner after some quick shipping of the ball. French giant Sebastian Chabal, who in mid-week committed to a new two-year deal, had bludgeoned the Leicester pack on the right. Scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth flashed to Hodgson, he to McAllister and then onto the Scottish winger via full-back Julien Laharrague.
As it was, the Tigers hit back immediately with a backs move which halted Lamont in his tracks on the right wing, and allowed his opposite man – Johne Murphy – to sidestep Laharrague and go over for a the only other try of the game.
Hodgson’s three first-half penalties had been answered by only one from Goode, and the second-half began 14-8. But the Leicester man applied the pressure again with a 45th minute penalty. As soon as he pulled his team level 20 minutes later, Hodgson knocked one over himself. McAlister cemented the result with only five minutes to go with a penalty from the half-way line.
With Leicester all but out of the Heineken Cup thanks to their 22-11 loss to Toulouse the week previous, and with Sale leap-frogging them in the mid-table of the Premiership (Tigers slip to sixth while the Sharks move up to fourth), new Argentinean coach Marcelo Loffreda’s start has been tough. Top of his New Year’s resolutions must be to find more of the grit and determination that the Tigers showed under erstwhile coach Pat Howard.
An expectant and convivial Edgeley Park greeted Leicester, and on a fresh but icy afternoon in Stockport, their hosts – Sale Sharks – grafted well to eek out their first defeat of the Tigers since their play-off final at Twickenham back in May 2006.
The score on that occasion was 45-20 but the Tigers had beaten the Sharks in their next four meetings. Sale came close in the same fixture last season but a last-minute Sam Vesty try took Leicester to 26-25 up.
Much of the pre-match hype, of the televised game that had been sold out weeks before, had been about the head-to-head between All Black centres Luke McAlister – who had made his try-scoring home debut for the Sharks the week previous against Bayonne – and Leicester’s Aaron Mauger.
In truth, the contributions of the men inside them – fly-halves Charlie Hodgson and Andy Goode respectively – proved more significant. With all the excitement about Wasps’ 20-year-old stand-off Danny Cipriani, these two England internationals quietly proved their worth, with assured, no-frills performances from hand and boot. Hodgson, however, won the battle, as Goode missed four out of seven crucial penalties.
Only 25 days before had the Tigers thrashed Sale 32-8 in the EDF Energy Cup at Welfare Road, but Sale on home turf are a different beast. Coach Philippe Saint Andre had called for the ‘16th man’ to make himself be known, and his wish was granted.
A full complement of 10,872 cheered and jeered in equal measure in this scrappy match – Sale’s last at home in 2007. It caught fire minutes before the interval and only rekindled in the 65th minute when Goode knocked over another penalty to tie the scores at 14.
Sale should have been tucking into their half-time oranges 14-3 up after Rory Lamont had belly-flopped over in the left corner after some quick shipping of the ball. French giant Sebastian Chabal, who in mid-week committed to a new two-year deal, had bludgeoned the Leicester pack on the right. Scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth flashed to Hodgson, he to McAllister and then onto the Scottish winger via full-back Julien Laharrague.
As it was, the Tigers hit back immediately with a backs move which halted Lamont in his tracks on the right wing, and allowed his opposite man – Johne Murphy – to sidestep Laharrague and go over for a the only other try of the game.
Hodgson’s three first-half penalties had been answered by only one from Goode, and the second-half began 14-8. But the Leicester man applied the pressure again with a 45th minute penalty. As soon as he pulled his team level 20 minutes later, Hodgson knocked one over himself. McAlister cemented the result with only five minutes to go with a penalty from the half-way line.
With Leicester all but out of the Heineken Cup thanks to their 22-11 loss to Toulouse the week previous, and with Sale leap-frogging them in the mid-table of the Premiership (Tigers slip to sixth while the Sharks move up to fourth), new Argentinean coach Marcelo Loffreda’s start has been tough. Top of his New Year’s resolutions must be to find more of the grit and determination that the Tigers showed under erstwhile coach Pat Howard.
Labels: Guinness Premiership, Leicester Tigers, rugby union, Sale Sharks
