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| Leicester extend unbeaten home run with bonus point against Sale Leicester 32-6 SaleLeicester extended their unbeaten home record to 24 matches but made hard work of subduing a depleted Sale at Welford Road.Sale made 11 changes to the side that started last week's Heineken Cup game against Harlequins but they ensured the home side had to graft for the victory. Leicester only claimed the bonus point in the final act of the game when the No8 Jordan Crane drove over after a succession of scrums close to Sale's line. That was the only score of the final quarter, even though Leicester scored their third try through Lewis Moody after 59 minutes.Sale – who included the rookie centre Jonny Kennedy, the son of the club owner, Brian – defended tenaciously but could not convert their own attacking opportunities into a try and had to rely on two Charlie Hodgson penalties for their points. Leicester led from the eighth minute when the England international Toby Flood kicked a penalty after Sale went in at the side of a ruck.The opening score might have been expected to settle the hosts, instead Johne Murphy put his team-mates under pressure by making an error when attempting to tidy up a loose ball, instead conceding a five-metre scrum. Leicester held off that attack but a weak clearance kick from Flood allowed Sale to press again only for Hodgson to squander a chance to level the scores when he pushed a penalty attempt wide.It proved a costly lapse as Murphy made up for his earlier mishap by getting on the end of a fluent passing move to score the first try which Flood, whose conversion struck an upright, narrowly failed to improve.With the flanker James Gaskell outstanding in the loose and lineout, Sale competed for longer than expected but it required some desperate defensive work to keep them in the game. Another well-worked move appeared to have created an overlap for Craig Newby but Sale scrambled back and the former All Blacks flanker was penalised for not releasing.Newby compounded his error when the referee, JP Doyle, caught him handling in a ruck which allowed Hodgson to open Sale's account with a long-range penalty, but it was quickly cancelled out by Flood's second.Sale silenced most of a 24,000 crowd when the former England winger Ben Cohen touched down after clever interplay with Oriol Ripol, but the try was disallowed after the touch judge Don Helme spotted a knock-on earlier in the move.Flood put a long-distance penalty attempt wide with the final kick of the first half and driving rain during the break made conditions difficult for the second period. But a greasy surface and slippery ball did not prevent the lock Ben Kay rumbling over for Leicester's second try, which Flood converted.Sale refused to lie down. Hodgson found gaps in Leicester's defence with a clever run from his own 22 deep into Leicester territory and the Fijian full-back Marika Vakacegu also ghosted through. But the visitors failed to finish off those attacks and Leicester made them pay when the England flanker Moody, captain for the day, was driven over from a lineout and Flood again converted.Sale looked like denying Leicester the bonus point but their scrum came under increasing pressure and when the replacement prop Rob O'Donnell was sent to the sin-bin in the last minute they were ill-equipped to deny Crane.The biggest cheers of the afternoon were reserved for Harry Ellis and Sam Vesty, two England backs returning from long-term injuries, when they came on as second-half replacements for Leicester.Guinness PremiershipLeicester TigersSale SharksRugby unionguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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