Cipriani boots Sale Sharks to Wasps win

Danny Cipriani kicked Sale Sharks to a 15-9 Aviva Premiership victory over Wasps at the AJ Bell Stadium on Saturday.

The tryless result moves Sale Sharks above Wasps in the Premiership standings.

The match was played in conditions unfavourable for running rugby and man of the match Cipriani settled the result in the final five minutes with a penalty and a drop goal against his former club.

The loss for Wasps is their third Premiership loss in a row and comes after an exceptional run in European Rugby.

The result means Sale rise to seventh with their victory, leapfrogging their opponents who, despite their bonus point, drop to ninth place in the Premiership table.

Wasps led 3-6 at half time thanks to two penalties from Jimmy Gopperth but the match was a war of attrition and Cipriani made up for a missed first half penalty goal by scoring 12 second half points.

Cipriani got the first score of the match for Sale, the former Wasps man slotting home a penalty in the fifth minute to give the hosts an early lead.

In the 27th minute the visitors were denied a try by the TMO as it was ruled that it was just short of the line after a fantastic build-up.

Gopperth levelled for Wasps with a penalty in the 31st minute following a Sale offside.

Cipriani tried to restore the hosts’ lead a minute later with a drop-goal attempt but it sailed just wide of the mark.

Daly was successful with a drop-goal attempt of his own on the stroke of half-time. This meant that the visitors went in to the break with a 3-6 advantage over the Sharks.

In the 56th minute Cipriani was on target once more to level for Sale with a penalty after a strong scrum from the home side’s pack. The fly-half added another penalty in the 64th minute to edge the home side into the lead.

Gopperth drew Wasps level once more with ten minutes to go with a penalty. This was before a long spell of possession saw Sale come to within inches of the try-line. It was to no avail as Peter Stringer’s attempted finish was ruled to be just short.

However, Sale found their breakthrough and it was once more through the boot of Cipriani, who scored a penalty in the 74th minute. This was before he added a drop-goal with just two minutes to go which secured a 15-9 victory for the hosts.

Final Score Sale Sharks 15 (3) Wasps 9 (6)

Scorers

Sale Sharks
Tries –
Pen – Cipriani 4
Con –
Drop – Cipriani

Wasps
Tries –
Pen – Gopperth 2
Con –
Drop – Daly

Match Officials
Referee :Luke Pearce (44th Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Peter Allan & Greg Macdonald.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.

Teams

Sale Sharks

15. Mike Haley, 14. Tom Arscott, 13. Sam James, 12. Sam Tuitupou, 11. Will Addison, 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Chris Cusiter, 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Tommy Taylor, 3. Vadim Cobilas, 4. Bryn Evans, 5. Jonathan Mills, 6. Dan Braid (capt.), 7. David Seymour, 8. Josh Beaumont.

Replacements: 16. Cameron Neild, 17. Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18. Brian Mujati, 19. Andrei Ostrikov, 20. Mark Easter, 21. Peter Stringer, 22. Joe Ford, 23. Mark Jennings.

Wasps

15. Rob Miller, 14. Frank Halai, 13. Elliot Daly, 12. Ben Jacobs, 11. Charles Piutau, 10. Jimmy Gopperth, 9. Joe Simpson, 8. Sam Jones, 7. George Smith, 6. James Haskell (c), 5. James Gaskell, 4. Joe Launchbury, 3. Lorenzo Cittadini, 2. Ashley Johnson, 1. Matt Mullan

Replacements : 16. Edd Shervington, 17. Simon McIntyre, 18. Phil Swainston, 19. Kearnan Myall, 20. Thomas Young, 21. Dan Robson, 22. Ruaridh Jackson, 23. Sailosi Tagicakibau