Du Preez penalty miss leaves Ackermann hailing Gloucester's winning spirit
Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann paid tribute to his players after they opened their Gallagher Premiership campaign with a dramatic 18-16 win at Sale. Ackermann’s team finished third last season and signalled their potential for further progress with a spirited display which saw them fight back from 13-0 down to claim victory.
Sale led 10-0 at the interval with Byron McGuigan’s try and Rob du Preez’s penalty nine minutes after the restart put them 13-0 up. Yet Gloucester came back strongly and two tries in seven minutes from centre Mark Atkinson and winger Tom Marshall sent them on the road to a victory which saw Billy Twelvetrees claim eight points with the boot.
Sale could have snatched victory at the death but du Preez’s last-minute penalty rebounded off a post as Gloucester held on in tense fashion. Ackermann said: “All I can ask of the players is for them to show a lot of fight and that’s what I saw.
“Even at half-time, I said ‘boys, I love the fight’ and we showed a lot of character out there. The whole atmosphere and talk at half-time was positive because the players felt we had opportunities but a lack of execution meant we couldn’t finish them.
“The message was clear and simple – to keep playing the way we wanted to play and the opportunities would present themselves. Sale played really well in the first half and had we conceded more points then it would have been difficult to come back.
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“We didn’t start well in the second half and conceded three or four penalties, but once we sorted our discipline out I felt it was much better.”
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond was left frustrated by his side’s failure to see out the game after building a 13-0 lead. But he also admitted that Gloucester were ultimately worthy victors, saying: “I thought in the first half we had control and probably should have gone in a little further in front.
Fascinating insight on how Steve Diamond approaches Premiership Rugby life in Manchester with Sale https://t.co/ILp1nctTKh
— liam heagney (@heagneyl) September 14, 2019
“We knocked the ball on twice over the line and I don’t think we got the decisions at the scrum – three penalties against us on our own put-in, but fair play to Gloucester. They came to do a job and they did it. They got their noses in front and we couldn’t get it back.
“I don’t think our bench offered us as much as the lads who started. But it’s a bit of a reality check about how difficult the Premiership is. If you’re not on it for eighty or ninety per cent of the game then sides will beat you, home or away. I’m disappointed, but I’m not going back to the drawing board just yet.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Who listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
40 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
40 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
39 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
1 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
40 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to comments