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Tigers take bonus point from away defeat

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Leicester Tigers went down to their first away defeat of the Aviva Premiership season after losing 34-30 to Sale Sharks on Saturday afternoon.

Tigers scored three tries but had to settle for a losing bonus point at the AJ Bell Stadium.
 
Peter Betham scored a first-half brace, his first tries of the season, but Sale came back to lead 24-17 at the break.
 
Adam Thompstone’s brilliant finish brought Tigers back to within a point with 10 minutes remaining to give Tigers hope of a third victory on the road.
 
But Sale centre Will Addison, who enjoyed a 100 per cent record from the tee, settled their nerves with a late penalty to add to the tries for Mike Phillips, Paolo Odogwu, Johnny Leota and Halani Aulika.
 
Tom Brady made his Tigers debut against his former club, coming in for JP Pietersen on the wing. Another summer signing, George McGuigan, came in at hooker alongside international props Ellis Genge and Dan Cole.
 
Ed Slater captained the team in the absence of Tom Youngs, while Logovi’i Mulipola was named in a matchday squad for the first time this season after recovering from a knee injury.
 
Sale included the former Tigers trio of hooker Neil Briggs, winger Paolo Odogwu and back-rower Laurence Pearce in their squad for the Round 5 fixture.
 
Tigers made a couple of early mistakes that were seized upon by Sale. First Owen Williams missed touch with a penalty before Mike Fitzgerald knocked on in a tackle on the Sale 22.
 
And Sale made them pay by scoring the opening try after six minutes, Mike Phillips taking advantage of a huge gap at the side of a ruck before stepping past last-man Adam Thompstone to score by the posts. Will Addison added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
 
Tigers hit back within four minutes. Thompstone bulldozed through Odogwu to create the space m and find Betham’s supporting line, who traded passes with Brendon O’Connor to score at the right corner. Owen Williams’s extras levelled matters.
 
And Richard Cockerill’s men raced into the lead moments later. And it was that man Betham again. The centre scorched onto O’Connor’s pass 30m out, broke the line and stepped past Byron McGuigan to score under the posts. Williams’s conversion put Leicester 14-7 ahead.
 
AJ MacGinty put the restart straight out and Tigers won a penalty at the resulting scrum. Williams, kicking into the wind, booted the penalty for a 17-7 lead.
 
Addison landed a simple penalty when Tigers were ruled offside, as the visitors held a 17-10 lead after the first quarter. Graham Kitchener replaced Slater, who had a foot injury, before the restart.
 
Sale were level after 24 minutes. Briggs picked out Josh Beaumont at the back of a lineout and his inside pass gave Odogwu a run to the line. Addison’s conversion brought the Sharks level.
 
And they retook the lead in the 30th minute. Sale swept forward through Nev Edwards down the right wing, and had the advantage following a high tackle on the winger. They continued to pressure the Tigers defence and Johnny Leota spotted a gap at the ruck and dived over for the try. Addison landed the kick from out wide to give Sale a 24-17 lead.
 
Another scrum penalty allowed Owen Williams to add three points to the Tigers total seven minutes before the break.
 
Tigers had to defend a 5m lineout in the last play of the half. Sale worked the ball down the narrow side but Fitzgerald was alert to the danger and made the tackle, knocking the ball out of Edwards’s possession.
 
Tom Youngs came on for McGuigan for the second half.
 
The start of the second period was punctuated by a series of scrums around the Sale 22. Tigers eventually got the game moving with a backs move, and when Owen Williams was tackled off the ball he landed the penalty to leave Tigers 24-23 behind.

Tigers came under sustained pressure deep in their 22, as Sale sent wave after wave of attacks round the corner. Tigers conceded two penalties in their determination to defend their line, before holding the Sale drive up on their line.
 
Eifion Lewis-Roberts and Andrei Ostrikov came on for the resulting scrum to add further weight to the Sale pack.
 
And they made an immediate impact, putting Tigers under pressure at the scrum before Halani Aulika drove over from close range for the bonus-point try. Addison’s conversion moved Sale 31-23 ahead.
 
Mulipola came on for Genge and made his presence felt with a carry that won a penalty on halfway, but Owen Williams was off target with his kick.
 
Brady swooped on loose ball in his own half but was well tackled by Phillips with no cover in place, before Williams pinned Sale back with a pinpoint kick to the right corner.
 
Sale failed to exit, and came under huge pressure at the lineout. Kitchener expertly set up the drive 20m out, and Tom Youngs and Fitzgerald controlled the ball but the second-rower was short with his finish.  Referee Craig Maxwell-Keys sent Aulika to the bin for pulling down the maul.
 
Tigers continued to press and, with a penalty advantage, gave Thompstone the chance to test the Sale defence on the right. The winger somehow held off Byron McGuigan and Odogwu to score at the corner. Owen Williams’s touchline conversion left Tigers 31-30 down with 12 minutes left.
 
However, Sale were the next to score, hands in the ruck from Tigers punished by a penalty from Addison to give the hosts a four-point cushion.
 
And they saw the game out, keeping the ball in their forwards to run the clock down and secure a third successive win against the Tigers.

Match Details

HT ScoreHalf Time Score

SAL 24-20 LEI

FT ScoreFull Time Score

SAL 34-30 LEI

Attendance

7,509

Referee

Craig Maxwell-keys

Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
34

Full Time

Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
30

Match Stats

Sale Sharks
Leicester Tigers
Possession
57%
43%
Penalties Conceded
10
13
Yellow Cards
1
0
Red Cards
0
0
Tackles Won
118/130 91%
112/133 84%
Scrums Won
1/4 75%
3/3 0%
Lineouts Won
16/16 100%
10/10 100%

Player Stats

Sale Sharks
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
TCDP
15Telusa Veainu
14Adam Thompstone1T
13Peter Betham2T
12Mathew Tait
11Tom Brady
10Owen Williams3C3P
9Ben Youngs
1Ellis Genge
2George McGuigan
3Dan Cole
4Ed Slater
5Michael Fitzgerald
6Mike Williams
7Brendon O'Connor
8Lachlan McCaffrey
16Tom Youngs
17Logovi'i Mulipola
18Greg Bateman
19Dom Barrow
20Graham Kitchener
21
22George Worth
23Matt Smith

Opposition Lineup

Starting XV

15
Byron McGuigan
14
Neville Edwards
13
Will Addison
12
Johnny Leota
11
Paolo Odogwu
10
AJ MacGinty
9
Mike Phillips
1
Ross Harrison
2
Neil Briggs
3
Kieran Longbottom
4
Bryn Evans
5
Jonathan Mills
6
Cameron Neild
7
David Seymour
8
Josh Beaumont

Replacements

16
Eifion Lewis-Roberts
17
Halani 'Aulika
18
Andrei Ostrikov
19
Magnus Lund
20
Laurence Pearce
21
James Mitchell
22
Dan Mugford
23
Sam Bedlow
posteamteam namepldwdlfadifftftatblbpts
4
Leicester Tigers
Leicester TigersLEI22140856744512258486466
10
Sale Sharks
Sale SharksSAL227114471595-12455706440
Form Guide
Form
LLLLL
Last Match
Lost to Bath Rugby 24-42
Past Meeting
Won 24-17
Form
Last Match
Past Meeting
Form
LWWLL
Last Match
Lost to Gloucester Rugby 25-27
Past Meeting
Lost 17-24

Matchday Live

Sale Sharks34
Sale Sharks
Leicester Tigers30
Leicester Tigers
Full Time