| Sale: (10) 15 |
| Tries: Harrison, Ashman Cons: R du Preez Pens: R du Preez |
| Exeter: (10) 25 |
| Tries: Slade 2, Witty Cons: Slade 2 Pens: Slade 2 |
Exeter beat 14-man Sale 25-15 to get a first Premiership win of the season.
Sale were 10-0 up after 10 minutes thanks to Ross Harrison’s try and Rob Du Preez’s penalty, but Henry Slade’s late score made it level at half time after Sale’s defence had impressed.
A Slade penalty put Exeter ahead before Rohan Janse van Rensburg was sent off for a high tackle on Harvey Skinner.
Slade and Will Witty went over in quick succession to kill the game off before Ewan Ashman got a late try for Sale.
The result moves Exeter up to ninth place in the Premiership table while Sale drop to sixth.
Exeter’s day started poorly – Slade and Facundo Cordero got in each other’s way at the kick off giving away possession deep in their own territory, and a few phases after a five-metre lineout, Harrison went in from close range for Sale.
Du Preez added a penalty soon after, but Exeter began to get into their stride as they spent the next 10 minutes in control of the possession and territory, with Slade converting a penalty.
Exeter again made a mistake at the restart as they gave away a penalty, and they could have conceded a try had a Sale pass not inadvertently hit the referee as the hosts went for the corner.
Sale’s defence was stifling as Exeter struggled to find a way through despite having the bulk of the possession as the half wore on – but they did make the breakthrough a minute before half time as Tom O’Flaherty’s mazy run put the Sharks on the back foot and a few passes later Slade went over.
Slade kicked a penalty soon after the restart and a few minutes later, Cameron Neild had a try chalked off after television replays showed the Sale forward was not at the back of the ruck when he picked the ball up and went in.
The turning point came with 27 minutes to go as Van Rensburg was red-carded when replays showed his shoulder hit Skinner’s jaw as he tried to tackle the fly-half, who had to come off for a head injury assessment as a result.
With a man down, Exeter wasted no time in capitalising – first Slade dummied well to create enough space to go over after a five-pass move while Will Witty charged down a kick and dribbled football-style towards the line before diving over.
Ewan Ashman went over in the left corner with 10 minutes to go after a close-range lineout for his first-ever Sale try to create a nervy finish, but Exeter held on to register a first win in Premiership Rugby since they beat Sale in last season’s semi-final in June.
Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson:
“Aside from a little bit of ill-discipline around the ruck, we had them physically and we looked comfortable defensively – back to our best.
“In the second half we had a very clear plan in terms of where we were going to play the game and how we were going to get there, and we went away from that.
“We’ve got to address that. Maybe I’m not clear enough but the players just said I was, so either we can’t execute it or some of the lads could have done better.
“That’s the worry. We need to be on the same page. That’s where we lost it – a couple of sets after half-time which led to 10 points.”
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter:
“The key part of the game was that half an hour period in the first half where it probably looked like Sale were dominant in defence – it didn’t look like we were going anywhere – but actually that’s part of the wearing down process.
“It’s never about running over people from the first minute. From the first minute, you work hard and I think the half-hour after we went 10-0 down was the making and breaking of the game.
“We didn’t concede any more points, we worked really hard and, although we didn’t really get anywhere, we stayed at it and that opened up space later on. That was what we capitalised on as the game wore on.”
Sale: Solomona; Roebuck, Janse van Rensburg, Hill, Yarde; R du Preez, Cliff; Harrison, Langdon, Schonert, Wiese, J-P du Preez, Neild, Dugdale, Ross (capt).
Replacements: Ashman, Rodd, Oosthuizen, Birch, Taylor, Warr, Wilkinson, L James.
Sent Off: van Rensburg (53).
Exeter: Hogg; Cordero, Slade, Devoto, O’Flaherty; H Skinner, Maunder; Moon, Yeandle (capt), Iosefa-Scott, Witty, Lonsdale, Ewers, Armand, Capstick
Replacements: Innard, Hepburn, Williams, McCauley, Tshiunza, Townsend, J Simmonds, Hendrickson
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys (RFU).
