Jean-Luc Du Preez sent off as Worcester lock left needing medical treatment
Sale lock Jean-Luc Du Preez was sent off as the Sharks crashed to a 20-13 Gallagher Premiership defeat to Worcester at Sixways.
In the 39th minute the South African put his shoulder into the face of Worcester’s Graham Kitchener.
Big self inflicted blow for @SaleSharksRugby who had Jean-Luc du Preez sent off for a shoulder to the head of an opponent against @WorcsWarriors
— chris jones (@chrisjonespress) November 30, 2019
As a result of the blow, the Warriors’ lock received medical treatment with a number of his side’s players expressing their dissatisfaction to Du Preez and after a number of replays, the South African was ordered off.
At that stage Sale had scored two tries from Faf De Klerk and Chris Ashton to Worcester’s none and looked favourites for victory but Du Preez’s action ruined their chances.
Worcester were able to take control with Perry Humphreys and Ashley Beck scoring tries. Duncan Weir converted both and added two penalties.
MATCH REPORT | #YourSharks take a losing bonus point from Worcester Warriors after a Jean-Luc du Preez red card proves the catalyst in a tough afternoon for Sale.
Match Report below…#SharkTime | @UKFast
— Sale Sharks? (@SaleSharksRugby) November 30, 2019
AJ MacGinty’s late penalty gave Sale a losing bonus point.
The first 15 minutes were very poor as both sides made elementary handling errors. As a result there was no flow to the game with referee Luke Pearce not helping matters by awarding a penalty at each of the first four scrums.
A score did not appear imminent but it came from nowhere when De Klerk intercepted a telegraphed pass from Francois Venter to run 70 metres for the opening try.
Venter did his best to make amends with a couple of powerful thrusts before Sale’s Simon Hammersley was yellow carded for a high tackle on Worcester wing Melani Nanai.
Warriors capitalised with a Weir penalty but that was the only damage done to the scoreboard in the full-back’s absence.
Moments of creativity were few and far between but a neat run-around move between MacGinty and Rob Du Preez saw Hammersley threaten the home line but resolute defence from Warriors kept it intact.
However knock-ons from Weir and Sam Lewis allowed Sale to maintain the pressure and they picked up their second try when Ashton won the race to collect a well-judged chip ahead from Rob Du Preez and touchdown.
Then came the sending off and Weir stepped up to kick the resulting penalty to leave his side trailing 10-6 at the interval.
Venter was replaced at half-time by Ryan Mills, who made a couple of key contributions to Worcester’s first real period of pressure. Francois Hougaard, Weir and Ted Hill were other major contributors to the offensive but Sale temporarily held out.
In the 54th minute, Warriors took the lead for the first time when Mills and Weir combined sweetly to send Humphreys away to score.
Within three minutes, Warriors had a second try when Chris Pennell ripped the visitors’ defence to shreds and Beck was on hand to race in.
Sale could have folded but MacGinty’s penalty rewarded their spirit and secured a valuable bonus point.
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
1 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
23 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
6 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to comments