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Sale Sharks held off a fierce Ospreys fightback to launch their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a 21-13 victory in Swansea.
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Alex Sanderson’s team cruised into a 21-3 lead midway through the first-half after tries from centre Rohan Janse Van Rensburg, hooker Ewan Ashman and lock Jean-Luc Du Preez, with AJ MacGinty converting all three scores.
The Ospreys managed a Gareth Anscombe penalty in reply, and they looked down and out before dominating the second period, helped by Sale lock Lood De Jager and flanker Ben Curry being sin-binned.
De Jager received his yellow card just before the interval, and Sale played the second half a man down for 17 minutes.
Wing Luke Morgan scored a try for the home side, with substitute Josh Thomas adding a penalty and conversion, and Sanderson will know it ended up being a lot closer than it should have been.
Ultimately, though, it was an important away win that sets Sale up for a full-scale tilt against French heavyweights Clermont Auvergne at the AJ Bell Stadium next weekend.
Ospreys boss Toby Booth handed European Cup debuts to full-back Mat Protheroe and flanker Will Griffiths, with Wales international scrum-half Rhys Webb captaining the team.
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Sale, European quarter-finalists last season, were led by Tom Curry, whose twin brother Ben joined him in the back-row, while there were also starts for England newcomers Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd.
It had been a difficult and emotional week for the Ospreys after one of their players – 25-year-old hooker Ifan Phillips – suffered life-changing injuries following a road traffic collision.
'I honestly believe it was money well spent. It is hard to convince (club) owners because it is intangible what you are trying to build, but it’s crucial.' #OSPvSHAhttps://t.co/A4qsVmKNbh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2021
In tribute to their colleague, the Ospreys squad all wore shirts with the number two and Phillips’ name on them during the warm-up.
Sale swept into a third-minute lead when Van Rensburg capitalised on woeful Ospreys midfield defence, brushing off two tacklers and claiming a try that MacGinty converted.
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Although Anscombe opened the home side’s account through a ninth-minute penalty, they soon fell further behind as Sale’s juggernaut pack drove a close-range lineout and Ashman touched down.
MacGinty’s conversion made it 14-3, and the Ospreys already had a mountain to climb following an opening phase dominated by the Sale forwards.
The Ospreys could not establish any foothold in Sale’s half, and the visitors had no intention of letting their domination slip.
'There are times now when I speak to players and they are unaware I grew up in league and had three or four seasons in Super League' @heagneyl ??? talks to @ospreys 10 @StephenMyler about life in Wales, converting to union, goal-kicking & more #OSPvSAL https://t.co/OEig1PR4Rn
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 12, 2021
Further relentless pressure resulted in a try for Du Preez, again converted by MacGinty, and Sale were chasing a bonus point with barely a quarter of the game gone.
The Ospreys enjoyed a belated spell of pressure as the interval approached, and their cause was helped when De Jager received a yellow card from Italian referee Andrea Piardi.
It came following several Sale technical infringements, but the visitors comfortably kept Ospreys at bay and they completed an impressive opening 40 minutes’ work by holding an 18-point advantage.
Anscombe did not return for the second period after failing a head injury assessment, being replaced by Thomas, and Ospreys immediately blew a golden try-scoring opportunity created by Protheroe’s searing break, but Webb could not deliver a scoring pass.
Webb, though, made amends shortly afterwards when he floated a long pass to Morgan, who finished impressively in the corner, with Thomas converting to cut the deficit.
It was a strong third quarter from the Ospreys, and a successful Thomas penalty hinted at further potential of an unlikely comeback.
Sale again did not help themselves, with Ben Curry collecting a yellow card 11 minutes from time, and the pressure continued to mount.
But Sale held on, and were only narrowly denied a bonus-point score in final minute when Quirke just failed to ground the ball ahead of Ospreys centre Michael Collins.
Comments on RugbyPass
“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.
22 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
3 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.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments