Stuart Hogg touches down as Exeter hold on to beat Sale
Stuart Hogg scored his first try for Exeter before going off with a head injury as the Chiefs maintained their 100 per cent Heineken Champions Cup record with a nail-biting 22-20 win at Sale.
The Sharks staged a tremendous rally after trailing 22-8 after 25 minutes and scored the only try of the second half but in the end ran out of time and a second defeat in three matches left their qualification hopes hanging by a thread.
Despite scoring three tries before half-time, the Chiefs failed for the first time to secure a bonus point but, after beating all three opponents in Pool Two, they have a stranglehold on the group at the halfway stage.
Hooker Akker Van Der Merwe scored two first-half tries for the Sharks to keep them in the game but they are now below Glasgow in the group and need to beat Exeter in the return fixture at Sandy Park next Sunday to keep alive their hopes of only a second appearance in the knockout stages.
Sale, who were without lock Jean-Luc Du Preez through suspension and had England flanker Tom Curry sin-binned for a professional foul, drew first blood courtesy of a penalty from fly-half Rob Du Preez.
However, the first quarter was dominated by Scotland full-back Hogg, who made the break that led to the opening try before scoring himself.
Hogg was initially denied by a terrific last-ditch tackle by winger Chris Ashton although his good work was undone by Curry, who in the next play tackled scrum-half Nic White from an offside position and was given a yellow card.
Referee Mathieu Raynal awarded a penalty try and the Sharks were down to 14 men when England winger Jack Nowell got around Sam James to create the opening for Hogg to kick ahead and touch down.
Hogg was hurt in the act of scoring and failed his head injury assessment, leaving Olly Woodburn to play the rest of the match in his absence, and Joe Simmonds added a penalty to his earlier conversion to stretch the visitors’ lead to 15-3.
Sale pulled a try back midway through the first half when second rower Bryn Evans charged down White’s attempted clearance kick and the ball fell kindly for Van Der Merwe to score the first of his two tries.
Du Preez was wide with the conversion attempt and the Sharks fell further behind in the 25th minute when England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie forced his way over from close range for Exeter’s third try, to which Simmonds added his third goal.
Van Der Merwe grabbed his second try, courtesy of a driving maul, five minutes later and Sale winger Marland Yarde, chosen ahead of Denny Solomona, ought to have added another after Faf De Klerk and Van Der Merwe had kept the ball alive only to drop it over the line.
Yarde, hoping to impress watching England head coach Eddie Jones, made way at half-time for Solomona after becoming the latest player to fail a head injury assessment.
Sale dominated for long periods of the second half, with returning centre James taking them close with a clean break, and they took advantage of the sin-binning of Exeter’s substitute prop Ben Moon for persistent team infringing after 68 minutes.
After having a try disallowed at a driving maul, skipper Jono Ross finally applied the finishing touches to a sustained spell of pressure by crashing over for Sale’s third try six minutes from the end.
Du Preez kicked his second goal but the visitors did enough to hang on for a seventh successive victory over the home side.
The match in images:
Comments on RugbyPass
The value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
10 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
10 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
51 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
54 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to comments