Sale Sharks……………..39
Tries: Curry 15, D Du Preez 21, R Du Preez 48, Curtis 64, McGuigan 70, Reed 77
Conversions: D Du Preez 22, 65, 71
Penalties: D Du Preez 28
Ulster……………………..0
Sale produced a thoroughly dominant display to make a six-try start to their Champions Cup campaign against a poor Ulster.
Tom Curry and Dan Du Preez wrestled their way over in the first quarter for the hosts, and Rob Du Preez converted his brother’s score before adding a penalty to open up a 15-point half-time lead.
The fly-half then scored an unusual try as he attempted an offload that somehow landed back in his hands, and eventually Sale sealed the bonus point as he fed Tom Curtis under the posts.
Byron McGuigan scored an opportunistic try after a woeful attempt at a quick lineout by the visitors, and they would add one last try after Joe Carpenter broke clear and found Arron Reed to send Sharks top of Pool B.
Star man Bevan Rodd said after the game: “We’re buzzing about it.
“We’ve still got three games to go so we won’t get ahead of ourselves but we’re obviously happy today. We got quite an early lead so I think Ulster had to chase the game, but we managed to shut them out which was good.
“Rob Du Preez’s been really pushing our attack and he’s been on fire this season. He’s making it easy for everyone else at the moment.”
Ambitious Sharks lay down a marker
Sale have made a strong start to the domestic campaign, and are well on track to reach a second Premiership semi-final in three seasons.
Having been in consecutive European quarter-finals, Sharks have made no secret of the fact they want to go further in this campaign.
Bolstered by the return of their England internationals they were electric from the off, and after Reed burst through the defence and fed the onrushing Curry, he managed to roll his way over having initially been held up over the line.
Akker van der Merwe was not as fortunate, ruled to have been held up for too long as he tried to get Sale’s second, but it wasn’t long before Gus Warr quick-tapped a penalty and sent the younger Du Preez across the whitewash.
The elder Du Preez converted and sent over a penalty before his lucky but sharply-taken third, as an attempted offload was fed back into his hands by Ulster’s Ethan McIlroy, and he took the lead to 20-0.
Underpowered Ulster completely fail to fire
That Du Preez try was the first score of a second-half where Ulster had desperately needed it to be theirs, and their offensive failures were laid bare in a subsequent period where they were pushed back by Sale’s brutal linespeed.
Ulster were unable to leave Belfast until Sunday morning due to disruption at Manchester airport, and though coach Dan McFarland had said the chaos wouldn’t have an effect on the outcome, it was hard not to feel that was the case in hindsight.
They showed much more spirit in defence than they had before as they made Sale work hard for their fourth, but that was completely undone as Curtis easily bisected the Northern Irish side with a simple finish off a scrum.
Ulster might have thought their pain was complete as they then went on the offensive, but a toothless attack in the 22 was shortly followed up by McGuigan’s score, as Michael Lowry’s quick throw bounced into the hands of the ever-present Rob Du Preez.
His fast hands helped McGuigan make it 32-0, and after he converted Carpenter made a fine break down the left and gave Reed got a deserved score to complete the punishment.
SALE: Carpenter 8, Reed 8, James 6, Tuilagi 7, O’Flaherty 6, R Du Preez (c) 8, Warr 6; Rodd 9, van der Merwe 7, Schonert 8, Wiese 6, Hill 8, L Du Preez 7, Curry 8, D Du Preez 8
ULSTER: Lowry 4, McIlroy 4, Hume 5, McCloskey 4, Stockdale 5, Burns 4, Doak 5; Warwick 6, Herring 5, O’Toole 4, O’Connor (c) 6, Treadwell 5, Matty Rea 6, Timoney 6, Vermeulen 5
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