Leicester 21-16 Sale: Premiership rugby union semi-final – as it happened
Here’s Michael Aylwin’s verdict from Welford Road.Thanks for joining me.All eyes on Twickenham next Saturday, for Bath v Leicester in the final.Until then …As for Dan Cole, who is retiring after the final, he says: “This club means everything to me, really.I used to sit up in the stands as a boy, joined when I was 15, I’ve played with so many fantastic guys.
It’s such a privilege to play here in front of these people.”Some thoughts from Michael Cheika: “Did I enjoy it? Yeah … you get nervous but you still enjoy it.The tight battle, the theatre it brings.I thought we played well today, but we couldn’t get away from Sale.We’ve had some great battles with them.
”“In the second half, they lifted their game, but we hung on strong and did it,We’ll just continue with the strategy we’ve used all season,These guys will need a rest after that though, that was pretty physical,”Steward’s tackle is deemed legal and this is over,Leicester are into the Premiership final against Bath.
82+mins.We have a check for an illegal tackle.If this goes Leicester’s way the game is over as Cowan-Dickie has knocked on.80+ mins.We’re still playing with Sale on the attack.
No gaps in the Leicester ranks so far and if anything Sale are going backwards.79 min.Ford gets a chance to put Sale in position after a soft Tigers penalty for not releasing.Last chance for Sharks to get inside the Leciester ten metre line.78 min.
Huge claim for Steward in midfield mean Leicester have the ball as we see the clock tick away.Can Leicester see this out with some slow phases?77 min.Chessum breaks free and gets Leicester inside the Sale ten.Tigers exactly where they want to be but Pollard misses the drop goal.Awful kick after some brilliant work up front.
75 min.Every Leicester whistle is earning a huge cheers from the crowd and now they’re able to get on the front foot after winning consecutive penalties to kick up field.74 min.Massive turnover from the replacement from Ilione as Sale nudge towards the try line and Pollard is able to come back on.72 min.
Pollard will return shortly but he’ll be on the backfoot as Radwan takes out O’Flaherty in the air.Ford finds the corner from the penalty.Good chance for Sale, this.70 min.Du Preez almost immediately gets Sale back on terms when Ma’asi-White shows quick hands to slip his teammate in on the right but a combination of Perese and Volavola put the Sharks into touch.
68 min.He’s only just come on and Izzy Perese is on the scoresheet.Volavola slips in the Australian and he dashes away to the try line from the ten metre line.Conversion missed.66 min.
Flawless from Ford and we’re all square,On comes Ben Youngs for Van Poortvliet,66 min,Nicky Smith is pinged for not coming in straight and Ford will get a chance to tie the scores from the tee,64 min.
The game is stopped with Sale going forward as Pollard is called off for a head injury assessment,Volavola is on as temporary cover,63 min,This is much more even now and in response to Sale’s resurgence Dan Cole comes on for Joe Heyes,60 min.
Leicester knock-on from the restart and Sale have a chance to start an attack from deep when Tigers infringe at the scrum.57 min.Sharks are back in this! They work the lineout well with the Curry brothers and when Ford finds Du Preez with quick hands he’s able to go under the posts amid a flurry of potential penalities.56 min.Penalty to Sale after Montoya is pinged for a double play at the break down.
Ford goes for touch.Sale need this to go.54 mins.Sale have made a couple of changes.Raffi Quirke is off for Gus Warr and Asher Opoku-Fordjour has been replaced by WillGriff John.
53 mins,This time Pollard is on target and Leicester have their ten-point advantage back,52 mins,Pollard will get another go as Sale get pinged again,51 mins.
Leciester turn it over and win a scrum of their own.That leads to a penalty and Pollard will kick for the posts.The radar is off from the tee for the South African as his attemp drifts wide to the right.48 mins.Pollard dinks a little kick over to the left and Kata gets their first but his off-load is put on the floor by Hassell-Collins who might have had a clear run to the line.
Sale scrum on halfway.47 mins.Ford knocks over his second from just outside the Leicester 22.They needed that.46 min.
That set-piece comes to little but Sharks go again and Quirke breaks the line.It’s the first time Sale have put Leicester under any consistent pressure and they earn a penalty.44 min.Sale get a break as Tom Curry’s kick for touch takes a nick off a Leicester man and Sharks get a lineout in good position.42 mins.
The rain is coming down at Welford Road so expect handling issues.Good work from Curry at at breakdown and from the Sale put-in Reed is able to make good territory.Pollard thumps his restart deep and Sale are able to gather.Awful kick from the hand though and Leicester are immediately playing in Sale’s 22 from the lineout.That is the final action of the half and I’m off for a quick break.
40+ mins.Penalty for Leicester and Ben Curry gets told that is Sale’s last chance before a yellow.Tigers opt for a lineout, but can’t get the drive.Pollard fakes a drop goal and tries to find a gap but knocks on.39 min.
Montoya gets over the ball and wins the penalty.Sloppy stuff from Sale and from a good position for the visitors, Leicester now have the chance to get the final points of the half.38 min.Pollard is winning the fly-half battle so far and earns a 50-22 with a piercing kick into space down the right flank.Sale defend well and earn a penalty, giving Ford a chance to find touch in Tigers’ territory.
A minute or so to maybe get some points before half-time,37 min,It’s not going Sale’s way at all,Ford gets a penalty chance to kick to touch and doesn’t get the depth he would want,From the lineout the Sharks edge forward but Cowan-Dickie is dragged into touch.
34 min,Sale overthrow the linout in good position on the Tigers’ ten metre line and Van Poortvliet makes a huge kick to pin the visitors back deep in their own territory,32 min,Leicester give away a penalty inside their own for a hold-up in the maul,Ford will kick for the corner.
29 min.Leicester get away with what look like a couple of forward-looking passes as Kata thunders into the line and after Liebenberg breaks the linem Pollard is able to find Radwan with a cross kick.It isn’t the best kick in truth, but the wing dives forward and clings on to score his second try.Pollard though cannot convert.26 min.
Sale are being given no time on the ball as Leicester keep blitzing off the line.Another Sale handling error gives Leicester a scrum in their own territory.The home side are working very hard, can they maintain this intensity?24 min.Sale secure the ball from kick-off and after a messy scramble out by touch on the Sharks left, Ben Curry makes a line break.His attempt at a hand-off goes to no one and Pollard is able to kick to touch
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