Sale Sharks 15 Wasps 9

By Cap'n Major Bloodnok
January 4 2016

After a disappointing (to say the least) last few games in the Premiership, Sale really needed a win here in the early evening rain. Close neighbours in the table Wasps were having a few hiccups of their own and wouldn't be a pushover.

This was a game for the rugby purists. If your assessment of the quality of a match is measured in passing, running, and tries, then this was not the game for you. Not that this was a particularly dour game, but it never really got to the heights of ‘fizzing’.

I have seen reports that talked of the ‘horrendous’ weather for the first half of this game. Well, no. It was raining—horrendous weather would be a hurricane or a blizzard. The rain was persisting down, though, and this made the ball like a wet, slippery thing that’s hard to hold.

The first 20 minutes were all Sale, aided by a couple of dreadful kicks from Wasps—first Gopperth sent down a long kick that eventually found touch (unfortunately for him, it was behind the goal line), then Simpson put up a high box kick that went out on the full—both of which gave Sale set-piece play in an advantageous position.

Mike “Better Than An Italian Full Back” Haley had an early burst down the wing before a Wasps infringement gave Cips a chance to kick for goal. This was met with muted enthusiasm in the South Stand, given Danny’s recent kicking form.

Cipriani’s kick slid…

…between the posts. 3-0 to Sale.

And that was it for the rest of the first quarter. Much running and huffing and puffing but, despite dominating possession and territory, those were the only points Sale put on the board.

There were several cheerable moments in that time, though. Will Addison and Tom Arscott’s Magic Day-Glo Boots combined to put Mike “BTAIFB” Haley away, only to see him stopped by Rob Miller.

The two Sams—James and Isgonnagetya—were putting in some big hits (and misses) in midfield, but many promising moves were cut short by the ball, as previously mentioned, resembling something that it’s difficult to hold on to very well.

Half an hour in and Wasps got their first (and pretty much only) chance to score a try. Eliot Daly made an excellent break and got the ball to Rob Miller who really should have scored. That he didn’t was down to a wonderful tackle by Chris “Get A Move On” Cusiter that rolled Miller over before he reached the line and that caused the ball to fly out of his grasp and over the dead ball line.

Referee Luke Pearce woke the TMO up to check whether in some alternative universe Miller had actually scored, but the replay merely gave the crowd a bit of amusement as they watched the ball execute a perfect swallow dive over the line.

A couple of minutes later, though, Sam Isgonnagetya strayed offside and Gopperth kicked the penalty to make it 3-3.

Sale still pushed on, with Big Billy’s Big Lad making a good break, and Cipriani just missing a drop goal, but the half ended with a drop goal from Wasps, leaving them to go in at half-time with a, frankly undeserved, 6-3 lead.

The second half seemed to be mostly a lot of pushing and shoving and yet more huffing and puffing, but neither side really looked as if they had the nous to break through the other defence in any meaningful way. Cips kicked two penalties and Gopperth one to bring the score to 9-9 with about 10 minutes left.

Dimes chose this time to bring on Stringer for Cusiter. Some in the crowd thought that the change should have been made earlier (70 minutes earlier for some), and there was merit in that view, as his presence seemed to spark a new sense of urgency in the team.

From a Sale maul near the Wasps 22, the referee signalled advantage to Sale. Danny put up a high cross-field kick, which Mike “BTAIFB” Haley caught. He was brought down, but Stringer picked up from the ruck and went for the line, landing only inches short. I know he was short because it happened almost in front of me and I could see he hadn’t got there. Listen to the replay and you’ll hear the South Stand give the “ooooh” of “so close”, not the “yayyyyy” of a score.

Play went through a couple more phases before the ref decided to bring play back for the original infringement. There then followed a moment of confusion (for me) as Pearce woke the TMO up again. Why? Had someone pointed out some foul play? No, he was looking a Stringer’s non-try, which showed it to not be a try. Haskell then spent a few minutes berating the ref for something before Cips kicked the penalty to make the score 12-9 to Sale.

A drop goal from Cips made it 15-9 and then Sale did something that has been a rarity recently—they stuck it up the jumper and played the clock down to secure the win.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win, and it was deserved. Lots of credit goes to the forwards, who mostly bossed the breakdown and the set-pieces. The backs were lively, if lacking a bit in penetration, and MOM Cipriani played an intelligent game that worked with the conditions, not against them.

Finally credit to both teams for not turning the game into one of aerial ping-pong.