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Report | Tigers fight back for win over Sharks

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Leicester Tigers fought back from ten points down at half-time to register a bonus point, 44-34, win over Sale Sharks at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

Four second-half tries, including doubles for both Ollie Hassell-Collins and Emeka Ilione and the accurate boot of Handrè Pollard - who finished with 19 points - helped Michael Cheika's men make it three straight wins in the Gallagher Premiership to remain in second spot on the ladder with only two rounds remaining.

The Leicester faithful were silenced after just sixty seconds when Sale hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie score the visitor's opener at the back of a driving maul but found their voice again four minutes later when Adam Radwan levelled the scores in the 5th minute.

With former Tiger George Ford missing his first attempt at goal, Pollard's conversion meant the home team led by two points, 7-5, before the South African extended it to a 10-5 lead in the 13th minute with a long-range penalty goal.

The scores were level again when Sale centre Rekeiti Maasi-White swerved his way through the Leicester defence to score his side's second and Ford didn't miss with his second attempt to see the Sharks lead by two, 10-12, after 15 minutes.

Pollard landed a second penalty goal in the 20th minute to take Tigers back into the lead, 13-12, which lasted only minutes after Arron Reed crossed for the visitors and Ford converted to take their lead out to six points, 13-19.

Another penalty for Pollard approaching the half-hour mark meant Leicester trailed by just three, 16-19, where it looked like it would remain at the break but for Sale forward Robert du Preez to score his side's fourth with the clock in the red. Ford added the conversion to see his side lead by ten, 16-26, at half time.

With the crowd behind them, Tigers came out firing in the second forty and took just nine minutes to get over the chalk when Hassell-Collins got his first after Pollard floated a perfectly placed kick-pass to his wing and the speedster did the rest, turning Ford inside out on his way to the line. Pollard landed the sideline conversion much to the delight of the Tigers fans and cut the difference to three, 23-26.

Hassell-Collins soon after, this time doing it all on his own after swooping on a loose pass and showing his trademark turn of pace to find his way through. Pollard was on target and Leicester were back in the lead, by four points, 30-26.

Ford landed a penalty goal to get the Sharks within one, 30-29, on the hour mark, before the Leicester bench came on to help secure the win.

Ilione had the first of his brace in the 71st minute, which Pollard converted, to make it 37-29, before the Sharks hit back with their first try of the second half in the 73rd minute and second of the match for Robert du Preez. Ford's conversion attempt was wayward, meaning Leicester had a three-point lead to defend  with only five minutes on the clock.

However, defence wasn't on the mind of the home team who instead went into attack mode and after fighting their way upfield, helped by the ill-discipline of Sale, Tigers opted for a kick to the corner after Jonny Hill was penalised and shown a yellow card in the 79th minute. From the lineout, the pack went to work and Ilione crashed over his double, which Pollard converted to make it a ten-point, 44-34, win.

Match Details

HT ScoreHalf Time Score

LEI 16-26 SAL

FT ScoreFull Time Score

LEI 44-34 SAL

Attendance

Not available

Referee

Matthew Carley

Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
44

Full Time

Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
34
Leicester Tigers
T
C
P
P
P
T
C
T
C
T
C
T
C
KOHTFT
Sale Sharks
T
T
C
T
C
T
C
P
T

Match Stats

Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks
Possession
50%
50%
Territory
44%
56%
Penalties Conceded
5
13
Yellow Cards
0
1
Red Cards
0
0
Tackles Won
132/158 84%
119/136 88%
Scrums Won
7/8 88%
2/2 100%
Lineouts Won
18/19 95%
14/16 88%

Player Stats

Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks
Leicester Tigers
TCDP
15Freddie Steward
14Adam Radwan1T
13Solomone Kata
12Joseph Woodward
11Ollie Hassell-Collins2T
10Handre Pollard5C3P
9Jack van Poortvliet
1Nicky Smith
2Julian Montoya
3Joe Heyes
4Cameron Henderson
5Ollie Chessum
6Hanro Liebenberg
7Tommy Reffell
8Olly Cracknell
16Charlie Clare
17James Cronin
18Dan Cole
19Matt Rogerson
20Emeka Ilione2T
21Ben Youngs
22Jamie Shillcock
23Dan Kelly

Commentary

TIGERS VICTORIOUS AT HOME!

A party atmosphere at Mattioli Woods Welford Road sees Tigers dig out a bonus point, comeback win under the Friday Night Lights. 

Two tries each from OHC and Ilione add to Radwan's score and 19 points from the boot of Pollard.

Final score: Leicester Tigers 44 - 34 Sale Sharks

CONVERSION | POLLARD

An easy kick and the final whistle blows.

TRY | EMEKA ILIONE

A second score for the flanker and that's game over.

The maul flattens Sharks and Tigers celebrate wildly.

YELLOW CARD | SALE SHARKS

Tigers win the ball back and with it a penalty. 

The hosts opt for the corner and from the line out, Jonny Hill infringes to hand Tigers another penalty and earns himself a yellow card.

77

CLASS IS PERMANENT

Silky skills from Ben Youngs.

With all the pressure on, Youngs is the coolest man in the building, dummying a pass and placing a lovely grubber through for Sal Kata to make metres.

A moment later he chips through to put the pressure on Sale with a line out five metres out.

TRY | SALE SHARKS

Sharks again fly back into it, finding space wide for Du Preez to score in the corner.

CONVERSION | POLLARD

An easy kick and Pollard stays at 100%.

TRY | EMEKA ILIONE

Deserved!

The first maul is collapsed illegally but Sharks have no chance against the second, the Tigers bulldozing over and Ilione popping up at the tail to celebrate.

70

IMMENSE FROM ILIONE

Sale look to break in midfield but Emeka Ilione wins a stupendous turnover with several Sharks attempting to clear him out, allowing Pollard to clear long to the Sale 22. 

Into the last ten minutes here.

68

GREAT DEFENCE FROM STEWARD

A trademark Ford spiral bomb causes havoc and Tigers can't gather.

Sale attempt to play quickly but Roebuck is tackled into touch well by Steward and Tigers clear to the 22.

SUBSTITUTIONS | TIGERS

Ben Youngs and James Cronin are on for JvP and Nicky Smith.

SUBSTITUTIONS | TIGERS

Dan Cole and Emeka Ilione are on for Joe Heyes and Tommy Reffell.

PENALTY | SALE SHARKS

Ford sinks a big penalty from downtown to narrow the scores.

CONVERSION | POLLARD

A simple kick.

TRY | OLLIE HASSELL-COLLINS

 A sensational score and the crowd are booming!

The ball flung wide, OHC picks up and dances inside one, two, three defenders before going full throttle and sprinting under the sticks. 

Tigers re-take the lead.

SUBSTITUTION | TIGERS

Dan Kelly is on for Joseph Woodward.

The crowd are rapturous here as Tigers are on the Sharks line!

52

TOMMY TURNOVER!

Whew this is getting heated.

The atmosphere is superlative at Tigers HQ with the crowd in booming voice to repel the Sharks who come pouring forward.

Right on the line, the fans are off their seats as Tommy Reffell somehow gets over the ball to win the penalty.

CONVERSION | POLLARD

A huge kick from the far left touchline.

TRY | OLLIE HASSELL-COLLINS

WHAT A SCORE!

From well inside the Tigers half the boys play it out. Lead by Freddie Steward's huge carry, Pollard floats across a beautiful crossfield kick to Ollie Hassell-Collins.

OHC catches at pace and shakes off the tackle of Du Preez, sprinting clear. Ford is back to cover but the wing turns him inside and out before galloping home and diving over in the corner.

SUBSTITUTION | SALE SHARKS

Sale win the ball back in contact before Tigers return the favour with a booming strike that forces a knock on.

As we pause for a scrum there's a change at #9 as Raffi Quirke replaces Gus Warr.

43

HUGE SCRUM PENALTY

Chaos just five metres from the Tigers line as Leicester first infringe before Roebuck knocks on from the subsequent scrum.

Now with the put-in, Leicester smash the visitors and win a vital penalty to clear up to halfway.

BACK UNDERWAY FOR THE SECOND PERIOD

Pollard kicks us off and Sale return instantly, Tigers starting the second half with a halfway line line-out.

HALF TIME HERE

A breathless first half sees the visitors 10 points ahead after a four tries, whilst Tigers have had one converted try alongside three penalties from Handré Pollard.

Half time score: Leicester Tigers 16 - 26 Sale Sharks

CONVERSION | SALE SHARKS

From in front of the posts, Ford furthers the lead.

TRY | SALE SHARKS

It all starts at halfway as Ben Curry bulldozes through for a well-earned turnover at the ruck, allowing Ford to kick long to touch.

From the line-out, the forwards pile into contact before eventually Ford is found out the back, the #10's soft hands finding an onrushing Rob du Preez who sprints goes through to score.

 

38

ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE

From non-stop scores early on, we've had a relative period of calm here.

It's all relative of course as we have continued to see huge shots coming in, shimmying feet from Sol Kata and massive boots long from Pollard.

The latter of which comes to the fore here as the Springbok hits a sublime grubber through to give Sale a line out just a couple of metres out from their line.

However, the visitors keep their composure and are able to clear to just outside their 22, Tigers ball.

The crowd is ROARING here!

33

THRILLING MATCH HERE

Breathless action here at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

Both teams are piling into contact, the highlights being a huge double shot from Chessum and Reffell on big lock Ben Bamber before Tigers force Sale into touch after Ford flings a huge miss pass wide.

PENALTY | HANDRÉ POLLARD

Tigers are crashing into contact, all starting with Freddie Steward who absolutely runs over Gus Warr before Liebenberg smashes through the two Sale props.

A phase or so later and Sharks infringe at the ruck, allowing Pollard to slot his third penalty of the match.

CONVERSION | SALE SHARKS

Ford slots another conversion from in front of the sticks.

TRY | SALE SHARKS

Tom Curry sails through a gap in the defensive line and releases flying wing Arron Reed on his inside who turns on the afterburners to score.

PENALTY | HANDRÉ POLLARD

Never in doubt!

Pollard smashes his second penalty of the game through the posts from some distance.

19

Pollard looking dangerous

The Tigers fly half has been threatening throughout the contest, playing right to the line and he bursts through here to create a scramble in the Sale defence.

He's brought down but as the play is brought back to the right, Jonny Hill is in an offside position and Polly has another shot at goal, just inside the Sharks half.

CONVERSION | SALE SHARKS

Ford slots a simple conversion and the visitors take the lead.

TRY | SALE SHARKS

Rekeiti Ma’asi-White who steams through on a hard line to score under the sticks and level the contest.

PENALTY | HANDRÉ POLLARD

Tigers get some revenge at scrumtime in what is proving to be a brutal battleground thus far.

The pack win a penalty and Pollard slots with aplomb.

8

SENSATIONAL FROM OHC

Hassell-Collins does superbly to strip the ball as Sale attack wide, the wing bursting into space.

Closed down around halfway he chips through and although it's covered by Ford, OHC wraps him up and he, along with supporting Tigers force a knock on.

CONVERSION | Handré Pollard

Pollard smashes the extras from out wide and Tigers take the lead.

TRY | ADAM RADWAN

Scintillating rugby!
 
Van Poortvliet is giving rapid ball around as Tigers smash into contact.
 
A great wide ball to Pollard sees the Springbok pick his line, commit the defender and offload to Radwan on his shoulder for his eighth score in eight matches.

TRY | SALE SHARKS

With the sun in his eyes, Tom Roebuck knocks on from kick off and we have our opening contest at the scrum.

Sale win the penalty and kick to touch before getting the rolling maul rumbling and recently-named Lion Luke Cowan-Dickie drops down to score.

 

KICK OFF

Former Tiger George Ford kicks us off here at home, here we go!

-5

VISITORS TEAM NEWS

Sale, meanwhile, welcome back  Jonny Hill to the starting XV, the England man amongst a strong Sale squad.

Other than that, no changes to the Sharks side who defeated Northampton Saints two weeks ago.

-10

TEAMS IN

Both sides have named strong squads for this evening, with Olly Cracknell returning to the base of the scrum at No. 8 whilst James Cronin and Matt Rogerson are fit to be named amongst the replacements.

-20

READY FOR ACTION!

After a week's break, Gallagher Premiership action is BACK at Mattioli Woods Welford Road!

A huge crunch clash today sees Leicester Tigers welcome Sale Sharks as second battles third in The Run In to the play offs.

Strap yourself in, it's set to be a seriously physical contest tonight.


Opposition Lineup

Starting XV

15
Joe Carpenter
14
Tom Roebuck
13
Robert du Preez
12
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White
11
Arron Reed
10
George Ford
9
Gus Warr
1
Bevan Rodd
2
Luke Cowan-Dickie
3
Asher Opoku-Fordjour
4
Ben Bamber
5
Jonny Hill
6
Ernst van Rhyn
7
Tom Curry
8
Jean-Luc du Preez

Replacements

16
Tadgh McElroy
17
Simon McIntyre
18
WillGriff John
19
Hyron Andrews
20
Ben Curry
21
Raffi Quirke
22
Tom O'Flaherty
23
Daniel du Preez

Team News | Trio return for showdown with Sharks

Michael Cheika has named the Leicester Tigers matchday squad for Friday night’s game against Sale Sharks.

Handré Pollard will make his 50th appearance for the club in the crucial clash at Mattioli Woods Welford Road which kicks off Round 16 of the Gallagher Premiership.

Olly Cracknell, who missed the side’s last outing through injury, returns to start at No.8 alongside Hanro Liebenberg and Tommy Reffell in the back row.

The only other changes to the team that registered a bonus-point victory over Harlequins in Round 15 are on the bench, with James Cronin and Matt Rogerson returning from injury to take their place among the replacements.

Cronin returns after twelve weeks on the sidelines, with the Irish International last featuring in February’s Premiership Rugby Cup clash with Coventry, while Rogerson is back after missing just one game, with his last appearance coming in the away win over Bristol Bears.

Harry Wells, who was injured in the club's last game, joins George Martin, Izaia Perese, and Ben Volavola as Senior Squad members unavailable for selection through injury.

Handré Pollard
Pollard brings up 50 against Sale Sharks

STARTING XV

15 Freddie Steward [106]
14 Adam Radwan [7]
13 Solomone Kata [39]
12 Joseph Woodward [28]
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins [43]
10 Handré Pollard [49]
9 Jack van Poortvliet [91]
Nicky Smith [19]
2 Julián Montoya (c) [73]
Joe Heyes [158]
Cameron Henderson [60]
Ollie Chessum [63]
6 Hanro Liebenberg [127]
7 Tommy Reffell [132]
8 Olly Cracknell [61]

REPLACEMENTS

16 Charlie Clare [119]
17 James Cronin [45]
18 Dan Cole [339]
19 Matt Rogerson [23]
20 Emeka Ilione [43]
21 Ben Youngs [333]
22 Jamie Shillcock [48]
23 Dan Kelly [96]

posteamteam namepldwdlfadifftftatblbpts
2
Leicester Tigers
Leicester TigersLEI161015476376100645311356
3
Sale Sharks
Sale SharksSAL17110649942970665710054
Form Guide
Form
LWWWD
Last Match
Draw with Bath Rugby 0-0
Past Meeting
Won 44-34
Form
Last Match
Past Meeting
Form
LWWLW
Last Match
Beat Bristol Bears 41-27
Past Meeting
Lost 34-44

Matchday Live

Leicester Tigers44
Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks34
Sale Sharks
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