The furious Sale reaction to protestors invading Twickenham pitch
Beaten Sale have reacted furiously to the pitch invasion that took place midway through the first half of Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham. The match was tied at six-all with play continuing on despite an injury to Saracens’ Sean Maitland.
It was at this very moment that two Stop Oil protestors managed to evade the pitch-side security and they both dispersed orange dust before some players showed their displeasure, particularly Sale skipper Jono Ross who appeared as he if was on the verge of throttling one of the protestors.
In the end, the trespassing pair were dragged away much to the disgruntlement of the 61,875 attendance, with some of the crowd pelting the protestors with drink as they were led away down tunnels in opposite corners of the stadium.
When play did restart with a scrum on halfway, the Sharks were caught napping as Ben Earl motored down the blindside with Ross slow to react and a kick from the supporting Alex Goode generated the chaos that ended in a penalty try and Tom Curry being yellow carded for preventing Max Malins from scoring.
Sale reacted well to that concession, hitting back with a try in the 10-minute first-half spell that Curry was missing, and they were to eventually find themselves 23-25 ahead with 13 minutes of the final remaining before two Saracens tries clinched them the 35-25 win.
Sharks boss Alex Sanderson sidestepped directly blaming the concession of the penalty try and the Curry yellow card as the reason for their defeat, but skipper Ross, who was playing his final match before retirement, was still livid with the protestors when speaking at the post-match briefing. “I don’t agree with what they are doing,” he said about the Stop Oil campaign that has been gaining notoriety in recent months for its interventions at a variety of sports events.
“I don’t agree with it at all. I don’t want to get into it. I don’t agree with it. It’s completely against everything I believe in and then to come into sporting events and ruin sporting events week in, week out, I don’t agree with it, I don’t agree with what they stand for. That is where I will leave that.”
Sanderson said: “I don’t understand why it did happen. Obviously, my reaction was, ‘What’s the next job? I can’t run on and throttle him myself. But it did create a break in the game and they [Saracens] scored off the back of it.
“I am not saying that is the game, but it just shows the intensity of concentration you need to be able to switch off and switch back on – and that (disruption) was certainly something unexpected that could have clouded our concentration.”
What was the verdict from the winners’ enclosure about the pitch invasion? “Probably a bit less technical than what you are trying to make out,” quipped Saracens captain Owen Farrell. “It was, ‘What the bloody hell is going on here?’
“Some people got pelted with I don’t what it was. Orange dust? I don’t know. We have seen it before. Not here, but I guess this is a stage for them to do what they have been doing. It wasn’t too long before the game got going again but yeah, it [the protest] was a bit different.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A 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?
11 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.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 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.
24 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
4 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 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 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)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments