Skip to content
Menu
  • News
  • Rugby
  • Old Skool shoes
  • limerick gaa jerseys
  • f1 t shirt
oumea.com

Josh Beaumont and AJ MacGinty steer Sale to nervy win over Worcester

Posted on March 6, 2019

For those busily trying to work out how many millions the Premiership might currently be worth, this was not the Super Sunday fixture to dazzle would-be private equity suitors. A grey, slightly damp afternoon in Eccles is not the most reliably irresistible of televisual backdrops and comparisons with Manchester’s round-ball theatre of dreams up the road were less than striking.

Pending the day they change the laws completely, however, rugby beauty still resides in the eye of the beholder. For Sale this was a decidedly welcome outcome, a relieving win to banish the opening weekend disappointment the Sharks endured at Harlequins. For Worcester, 18-0 down at the interval, there was at least the consolation of a second losing bonus point in successive weeks as a reward for their trip north.

Leicester’s George Ford starts try-fest in wild win against Newcastle


This will not be the easiest place to come when Chris Ashton, Faf de Klerk and James O’Connor are restored to the Sale lineup, with Jono Ross always a willing presence in the back row and both Marland Yarde and Denny Solomona looking dangerous on the wings in front of the watching England head coach, Eddie Jones. On this occasion they were also indebted to the fit-again Josh Beaumont, the scorer of their opening try, and fly-half AJ MacGinty, a calming tactical presence who also kicked 11 points.

Then again, as the Sharks’ director of rugby, Steve Diamond, was quick to point out, tougher obstacles than Worcester still lie ahead. Sale’s defence was frequently excellent but it will need to be even better at Exeter, the early leaders, on Saturday. “If we play like we did in the second half we’ll get killed at Exeter,” said Diamond. “We made the mistake of underestimating Quins last week and we got put back on the coach with tears in our eyes. It was embarrassing and won’t happen again.”

The competitiveness of the league is certainly on the increase, with the race to avoid bottom set to be as intense as it has ever been. Before it sits contentedly back puffing on a big fat cigar and counting its potential dividends, however, professional rugby really needs to get its act together in terms of the consistency of its concussion protocols.

Nowadays if a player is visibly knocked cold the consequence should be permanent removal. The sight of Nick Schonert, Worcester’s tighthead, returning to the field having apparently lost consciousness for several seconds following a nasty first-half collision therefore raised a number of questions, particularly as each Premiership club is now supposed to have a dedicated pitchside video reviewer with access to eight different camera angles.

Worcester’s Alan Solomons said he had not seen the incident but his opposite number was more forthcoming. “I thought it was strange he came back on,” said Diamond. “He did look as if he’d had a bad knock but we trust the fact their medical people know what they’re doing.”

There was also the grim case of the 38 fruitless phases during which the Warriors, on the verge of half-time, were guilty of one of the most brainless attacking “red zone” sequences. Endless one-out passes inviting yet another poor sap to run straight into the exact same brick wall is not only dull thinking but reliably ineffective, particularly against muscled-up modern defences. The only possible conclusion was that Worcester’s forwards did not entirely trust their backs not to mess it up, hardly a good sign just two weeks into a new season.

Their second-half revival, consequently, was more than a touch unexpected given Sale’s comfortable early cushion. A clever swivel pass from Yarde had set up Beaumont for the home side’s first try before Solomona intercepted an attempted long pass from Ryan Mills to extend the margin even further. Diamond insisted there was no complacency – “We weren’t swinging from the chandeliers at half-time” – but tries from Bryce Heem and Chris Pennell ensured a tauter finish than anyone could have envisaged.

It might have been closer still had Jonny Arr’s close-range lunge for the goalpost padding been given the green light by the television match official, rather than being adjudged a fraction short. Worcester did come away with three points via a consolatory penalty but, after losing a winnable game at home to Wasps in round one, Solomons wants to see greater accuracy.

The marketers who think English club rugby union could soon be wowing huge new audiences in China and the US every week should not get too far ahead of themselves just yet.

Recent Posts

  • Rain Gauge: Measuring Precipitation for Weather and Climate Studies
  • Rain Gauge: A Comprehensive Overview of Its Design and Functionality
  • **How Is Dew Point Calculated**
  • How is Dew Point Calculated?
  • How is Dew Point Calculated?

Recent Comments

    Archives

    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • September 2022
    • August 2022
    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019

    Categories

    • News
    • Rugby

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
    ©2025 oumea.com | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com
    Menu
    • News
    • Rugby
    • Old Skool shoes
    • limerick gaa jerseys
    • f1 t shirt