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 | | Monday, 29 April, 2002, 15:08 GMT 16:08 UK Sale edge out Gloucester  Sale captain Brian Redpath evades a Gloucester tackle Sale 28-27 Gloucester Sale survived a double scare to earn a place in the Parker Pen Shield final with a nail-biting 28-27 victory over Gloucester at Franklin's Gardens. The Sharks trailed by 13 points after only 30 minutes of the game, but came storming back to score 28 points without reply and take hold of the game. But Gloucester staged their own fight back to move within a point.
And when Ludovic Mercier stepped up to take a close-range penalty in the dying minutes the Sharks' final hopes looked in tatters. But the usually accurate Frenchman somehow managed to put his effort right of the posts and Sale held on. "You would have put your mortgage on him kicking that," admitted coach Nigel Melville. "A lot of people probably started celebrating a bit too early because of the quality of his kicking. "But he has missed the big one and he is absolutely devastated." The miss left the fly-half inconsolable at the final whistle, and he was comforted by Melville and opposing skipper Bryan Redpath. Redpath said: "He is one of the best kickers in modern rugby but I didn't say too much to him afterwards - you could see how disappointed he was."
Terry Fanolua had gone over in the third minute to give Gloucester the ideal start. And when Mercier converted and then landed two further penalties things were looking good for the Kingsholm club. Sale's England star Jason Robinson endured a poor afternoon, making numerous handling errors. But wingers Steve Hanley and Mark Cueto made up for his below-par performance with tries late in the first half to bring them level at the break. England stand-off Charlie Hodgson also had a poor game. He failed to convert either chance and then missed again shortly after the interval when hooker Charl Marais bulldozed his way over. Hodgson had more luck when Harris took Cueto's pass to score and then he added a further penalty to increase the Sale lead. But back came the Cherry and Whites, James Forrester crashing over in the corner and Fanolua burrowing his way over for his second try. Sublime stuff But Sale survived thanks to Mercier's miscue to make it a memorable end to the day. "It would have been easy to panic at 13-0," admitted Sale coach Jim Mallinder. "But we had total confidence in our own ability. "At times I thought we played some sublime stuff, right out of the top drawer. "This gives the whole club a massive boost and hopefully will spill over into the rest of the season." It wasn't such a happy day for the Sale mascot. 'Sharkey' was forced out of the stadium by six stewards after an altercation with the Gloucester supporters in the far corner. He opted to take off his costume and watch the rest of the game, rather than find himself turfed onto the streets of Northampton. | |
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