Another red card shown as Exeter edged out by Sale
Exeter hooker Jack Yeandle became the latest player to be sent off in the Gallagher Premiership as the champions succumbed to a 25-20 defeat to Sale at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The Chiefs were 12-8 ahead thanks to tries from Facundo Cordero and Sean Lonsdale when Yeandle was sent off for connecting with the head of Curtis Langdon.
? It's red! ?
Another red card! This time for Exeter.
Jack Yeandle makes contact high and doesn't get a clean wrap of his arms ?
No room for mitigation, he's out the game ? pic.twitter.com/ovhcICHF2A
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 26, 2021
They battled well, however, despite Bevan Rodd responding for Sale and levelling matters at the interval.
Sam Simmonds continued his incredible try-scoring form in the second period and gave Exeter the chance of an unlikely victory.
But the pressure was unrelenting from the Sharks in the latter stages and Langdon’s try, allied to the boot of AJ MacGinty, secured the win.
After successive wins to start the Alex Sanderson reign, Sale then lost the next two games as they dropped outside the play-off places.
The new director of rugby experimented with his squad in those defeats to Bath and Harlequins but, against the defending champions, he went in with his best available team.
And they started well, pressurising the visiting defensive line and touching down when Faf De Klerk took a quick tap penalty. Byron McGuigan was in support and the Scotland international did the rest for a 5-0 lead.
Back came the Chiefs, however, with a stunning score from Cordero. Rob Baxter’s men have struggled to find their rhythm over recent weeks, culminating in a shock home defeat to Northampton last week, but this was the type of move the Premiership has become accustomed to.
After a lineout had set the platform, a brilliant attack sent the Argentinian into a gap and the wing did the rest superbly, weaving his way across the whitewash.
Joe Simmonds kicked a simple conversion to move them ahead before the hosts regained their advantage through a MacGinty penalty.
Sale were conceding too many needless infringements, though, and Exeter capitalised, setting up a driving maul just outside the five-metre line and scoring via Lonsdale.
Matters got even better for the Chiefs when Sale skipper Jono Ross was sin-binned for taking out Sam Skinner in the air, but that 14-man advantage did not last long as Yeandle was sent off.
Much like the recent spate of red cards, it was for contact with the head of an opponent and the Chiefs would duly feel the pressure caused by the hooker’s dismissal late in the half.
Initially, they responded well, with fly-half Joe Simmonds kicking a three-pointer, but the Sharks’ gargantuan pack soon got to work and levelled the match at the break through Rodd’s close-range effort.
Down a man, the odds were against Exeter, but they began the second period excellently and went over for the third time. Unsurprisingly, it was Sam Simmonds who scored it.
The number eight moved onto 43 Premiership tries after he caught De Klerk unawares at the back of a maul to cross the whitewash.
Baxter’s charges were also defending stoutly, but they appeared to be breached when MacGinty went through a gap and touched down. However, it was ruled out for crossing and left the hosts five points in arrears with a quarter of the match remaining.
Sanderson’s men continued to press and their endeavour was rewarded as Langdon scored in a similar fashion to Simmonds by breaking off the maul and going over.
MacGinty crucially added the extras to give Sale the lead and then added a penalty to seal the win, despite late Exeter pressure.
Comments on RugbyPass
it’ll all be released in an autobiography a few years from now….. “Razor shafted me” blah blah blah. thinking of making Scott Barrett captain might be a good move. Could calm down his brain fades & make him an even better player for them
3 Go to commentsSadly he played far too many games too young. England and France really do need to look after their younger players better.
1 Go to commentsHaving finally been able to watch the first Chasing the Sun (thanks RugbyPass!) - because I refuse to pay DSTV's extortionate monthly fee in SA - after four years, it was amazing to see Mapimpi's story as well as seeing my personal hero, Rassie, breaking down when telling it. There _is_ hope for the country, but only once we've got rid of the crooked and incompetent ANC (and others) who have set out to destroy it. Viva Rassie, viva Kolisi viva rugby!
1 Go to commentsWhether true or not, all the best to you Sam Cane. A warrior of a player and a loyal servant to the ABs! Go get you some yen and have some fun.
3 Go to commentsThe game was changing too much with teams trying to role the dice drawing fouls. Would be better if scrums and the adjudicating problems were resolved but this is a good immediate fix.
37 Go to commentsLike many here I am encouraged by this post. Our forwards are where the real rewards and improvements must come from. With a 50/50 pack against any opposition, our backs could ensure more than 50% of the games will be won. We need Valetini at 6 and Cale at 8 to make the most or a good tight 5, McWright will add to the effectiveness of the pack BUT must get a very good tight 5 out there first.
104 Go to commentsThe key point I think that is missing is that if Joseph wants to guarantee a Lions spot, he really has to play wing in his first year. He is easily going to nail down whatever he wants to do, but with just half a season, how much of a factor he proves to be in the Lions series could be dictated by this initial choice of playing position.
8 Go to commentsthe game was 2 weeks before the challenge cup final. I really don’t believe they needed to rest that many players.
1 Go to commentsI really feel like neither of the Vunipolas is given the respect they deserve. I would have liked to see both of them get a few more caps than they have gotten in the past couple of years, but unfortunately the fact that they both peaked young has meant that for a number of years they have been perceived as disappointments. When they are both retired, in the cold light of day they will be recognised as two of the best players of their generation of any nation.
2 Go to commentsthis generation of saracens players could produce some really incredible coaches. When Farrell retires he could walk into any premiership team as a defence, attack, or kicking coach. Itoje could make it as a defence or a lineout coach, and Jamie George as a lineout or scrum coach. The problem the Vunipolas are going to have is that its not clear what their coaching speciality would be. Neither are great in the set piece, and while they were good in attack and defence, they were never tactical masterminds. Perhaps contact skills would be their ideal brief? Mako perhaps could work in strength & conditioning, but Billy has a bit of a reputation for not taking that side of the game seriously.
2 Go to commentsA very good player.We are finally getting some balance in our team. Plummer..Heem ..Lam a solid..experienced combo who take the sensible options consistently. Clarke was a grt impact of the bench option until Lam moved to 13 to replace an injured Reiko. Cotter is doing a grt job building his team. .
1 Go to commentsSaturday was last straw. Terrible record in Premiership since Jan 23. Capitulation against Bath at home. There are 3 conclusions. Players aren't good enough. Coaching team aren't good enough or combination of both.
2 Go to commentsAs you say in your article Brett, the point was Hamish and his vanity - plain and simple. The crazy bit is that sua’ali’i has to be probably twice the player of mark N, no easy feat, just for RA to get their money's worth!?! And as you say, tahs aren't short of wingers, props on the other hand id like to see $1.6m spent on. I still shake my head at the absolute carry on in the media and comments section around the boon of getting sua’ali’i and the revenue it'd generate. It was all such hogwash imo and short sighted, real sugar hit stuff. And wasnt Waugh (and others) on the board at the time this money was spent? You say silver bullet, I'd say sugar hit but without the flavour.
8 Go to commentsNZR should play hard all a bit with some of these players and make them sign up to the next world cup. If they won’t, offer it to someone who will. Because what happens is the NH (especially France) swoop on a bunch of nz players coming off contract, weakening their depth, and nz scrambles less than 2 years out trying to get replacements up to speed.
1 Go to commentsNo thanks. Savea almost always leaves easy points out there and goes for the corner, no matter how many times it’s not working. He claimed he took “the learnings” from this when he kept making the same mistake against the Boks a few years ago. Then went out the very next week and did the same thing and SA snatched victory because of it. Years later he still does it, right up to and including the world cup final. Great player, not so great rugby nous.
10 Go to commentsIt certainly wasn't a rhetorical masterpiece coming from big E …. (just as a side remark: Eben is the better player, Siya by far the better talker - maybe that's why they don't seem to like each other very much) …. but could we please move on?
71 Go to commentsMan who wasn't there and hasn't held a conversation with those who were present weighs in on dead rubber debate and is presented as representative of the Irish Rugby Union’s spokesperson on subject he has no apparent knowledge of whatsoever.
71 Go to commentsanybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
6 Go to commentsThe evidence is not strong that this is necessary. Mounga choked on clutch kicks in the WRC final and lost the match by not performing his core goal kicking role to the level required. He also choked in the Semi final against England and was targeted as the weak point in the defence allowing them to score. Not a test great frankly. Why bend the rules for a player that is competent but not brilliant at test level?
11 Go to commentsDear Robbie, Please return to the Crusaders next season. Sincerely, Scott
1 Go to comments