Sale 42 Wasps 27

Celebration today
By Sarah
May 19 2002

Handed a once-in-a-season starring role on Grandstand, Sale showed the nation what a strong and battling side they are by coming back from a 13-27 deficit to defeat Wasps by 43 points to 27. That lines us up for a Zurich Championship semi-final against Gloucester in two weeks.

Jim Mallinder kept a number of key players aside so as not to endanger them before the Parker Pen Shield final: Jason Robinson, Bryan Redpath, Dan Harris and Stuart Pinkerton started on the bench while Mark Cueto, Martin Shaw, Pete Anglesea and Kevin Yates were not on the teamsheet at all. Iain Fullarton was out with a minor leg injury.

With a Heineken Cup place already secured and the Shield to focus on next weekend, this game did not mean as much to Sale as it did to Wasps. The first half was not great and Sale wasted what scoring opportunities they did manage to create. Wasps scored the first try in the seventh minute, blocking a kick to win the ball and send Martin Offiah over.

Charlie Hodgson kicked a penalty goal for us before Paul Sampson scored Wasps' second try and Phil Greening converted it.

On the half hour Sale went back into the lead with a converted try for Alan Dickens and a penalty a couple of minutes later. But a successful penalty kick from Greening and another Offiah try at the end of the first half put Wasps 20-13 up at half time.

Sale slipped further behind as Josh Lewsey scored an easy try for Wasps four minutes after the restart. Phil Greening, one of the least welcome visitors to Heywood Road these days, received plenty of condemnation from the Birtles when he was sin-binned and this, together with the substitutions onto the pitch of Jason Robinson and Bryan Redpath, proved to be a turning point for Sale. First Alex Sanderson shook off four defenders to score a lovely try. Then fifteen minutes later there was a try in the left corner for Steve Hanley. With a pair of Charlie Hodgson penalties also on the board, Sale had a narrow 31-27 lead at the end of normal time.

Wasps' heads went down allowing Sale to extend the lead with a couple of tries created by Charlie Hodgson. His grub kick down the right wing bounced well and Anthony Elliot was able to grab the ball and touch down over the line. Then over on the other wing, Charlie chipped over the try line and Steve Hanley outran two defenders to dive on the ball at the end of the in-goal area. The successful conversion was the last kick of the match.

Sale: Going (Robinson, 52), Hanley, Baxendell, Deane (Harris, 54), Elliott, Hodgson, Dickens (Redpath, 48), Black, Marais (Titterell, 59), Stewart, Lines, Jones, Perelini (Pinkerton, 48, Giacheri, 68), Wilks, Sanderson.

Wasps: Sampson, Roberts (Wigran, 77), Abbott, Denney, Offiah (Offiah, 64), Lewsey, Wood (Friday, 73), Dowd, Leota, Green, Shaw, Jones, Worsley, Greening, Lock.