Gap widens on Bristol as Sharks edge 9-try spectacular
Tries: James 7, 28, Haley 39, McGuigan 64, B Curry 77
Conversions: MacGinty 8, 29, 40, 78
Penalties: MacGinty 75
Worcester…26pts
Tries: Hougaard 11, Taufete’e 18, Pennell 70, Alo 80
Conversions: Mills 12, 19, Lamb 71
JUDGING by the way in which these two sides approached this exhilarating encounter, it appears they have already decided Bristol’s fate.
‘Tight’ and ‘tense’, two words often used to describe games between perceived relegation candidates, were absent as the Premiership’s 10th and 11th placed outfits traded blowfor- blow, willing to chance their arm.
If anything, it said more about their confidence in Bristol’s inability to pick up enough victories to escape the drop. If there was something more tangible on the line for either side, no doubt there would have been more spills. Instead, there were only thrills.
Ultimately, Sale edged it after showing greater quality and resilience in the second half. Supremo Steve Diamond said: “We played some good rugby and finished some good tries. Once we got our lazy forwards off the deck and around the rucks, in the second half it was totally different.”
Diamond’s opposite number, Gary Gold, also had aspects to be pleased about after claiming a trybonus point, but was left with a feeling of annoyance.
“When you make mistakes like we did you pay the price,” Gold said. “We played well in the first 20 minutes and there were passages in the second half when we played really well… but with a team like Sale, who play for the full 80, our concentration levels have to be sharper.”
Since his arrival, Gold has both improved standards and maintained Worcester’s attacking verve.
It was positivity which led to Sale and Worcester both picking up try-scoring bonus-points and enabled certain players – particularly in the case of the hosts’ backs – to enhance their England credentials.
Mike Haley, low on form, went some way to justifying Eddie Jones’ faith, while Sam James, another to struggle in an unsettled backline, also impressed, scoring two tries in an accomplished display.
The same could not be said for man of the moment Denny Solomona, who was often exposed defensively by slick handling.
His impact was initially positive when he broke clear and off-loaded for James’ first score, but he then misread a pass as Perry Humphreys and Ben Te’o combined to send Francois Hougaard in.
The outstanding Joe Taufete’e gave Warriors a deserved advantage following a powerful driving maul before James levelled matters.
At 14-14 it was a harsh scoreline on Gold’s men, who controlled much of the first half-hour, and their head honcho became even more incensed when Haley broke through for another try before half-time.
The second half proved to be quieter but the final 16 minutes of the match more than made up for it.
Byron McGuigan began the scoring, followed by Chris Pennell, with Halani Aulika having seen yellow for Sale. Sharks were always in control, though, and two further interventions, through AJ MacGinty’s penalty and Ben Curry’s try, secured the win, despite Mike Phillips’ sin-binning and Biyi Alo’s late effort for Worcester.
CLOSE-UP
MIKE HALEY Sale full-back CHRIS PENNELL Worcester full-back
These two England outsiders have struggled for both form and fitness and only one was anything close to their best on Friday, with Haley displaying big improvement from his recent displays. Pennell, despite scoring a try, struggled.
He missed a tackle on Haley for Sale’s third try and generally was not as assured as the Worcester fans have come to expect.
