Leicester Tigers 37

Sale Sharks 31

SHARKS let a golden chance of a fourth successive victory again the Tigers slip through their fingers in a high-octane encounter at Welford Road on Saturday.

With the home side reduced to fourteen men after prop Julian White swung a punch at Andrew Sheridan’s massive jaw, Sharks found that their hosts’ reaction to adversity was to step up the intensity and score five tries in a see-saw game.

Although Sale twice edged ahead during the second half, the Tigers responded to the demands of their vociferous supporters and roared back, leaving Kingsley Jones’s men with a solitary ‘losing bonus’ point.

A top-four spot has now become a more remote prospect for the Sharks, with just two home games against Harlequins and Northampton left. Their fate now hangs on the deeds of others.

Powerhouse Samoan winger Alesana Tuilagi opened the home account with a sixth minute try, converted by England man Toby Flood. Charlie Hodgson and Flood exchanged penalties before Sharks’ international right wing Mark Cueto appeared at his fly half’s shoulder to cross the line under the posts. The conversion made the score 10-all with only eleven minutes played. Hamilton came off his wing to score Tigers’ second try after 19 minutes, Vesty converting.

The game’s major talking point came four minutes later, involving two England props.

Referee Wayne Barnes awarded a free kick to Leicester, a signal for the front rows to stand up and exchange in everyday pleasantries – little more than a traditional bit of ‘push and shove’.

White took matters into his own hands and received a red card. The game continued to bristle before Cueto, being watched by Lions’ coach Ian McGeechan, put the Sharks right back in the game after 38 minutes, finishing off the sweetest of backs’ moves.

Three minutes into the second half, a Hodgson penalty gave the visitors the lead for the first time, soon negated by Flood, but with 48 minutes gone it looked like the Sharks were finally to start making their one-man advantage count.

Hodgson and Tait combined to send the impressive Neil Briggs scampering for the line. Hodgson converted: 25-20 looked like the springboard for an impressive victory.

How wrong can one be? The fourteen men in green and white promptly drew on their heritage, sweeping Hipkiss and Hamilton over for two tries within seven minutes. It was Richard Cockerill’s team who looked to have the extra man, even though Hodgson made the score 32-28 with another penalty. Would this be the final impetus for the Sharks in this dramatic, pulsating game?

Again, no: incredibly, Leicester conjured up a fifth try with ten minutes left through Sam Vesty.

The Sharks were increasingly being caught in possession, their lineout was creaking and their pack outwitted by inferior numbers before the scrums became uncontested with twelve minutes left.

A fourth Hodgson penalty reduced the deficit to six points, but it was the rampant Tigers who claimed top spot amongst the tight placings in the upper reaches of the Guinness Premiership. For all Cueto’s clinical finishing, Hodgson’s astute kicking and Jones’s mobility, this ‘must win’ game had a disappointing outcome for the Edgeley Park club.