SALE FC completely outplayed Cheshire rivals Wirral at Heywood Road with a devastating second half display of superb rugby to claim a 44-6 victory.

An early Liam McGovern penalty put Sale ahead and with play even for the next 15 minutes something special was required.

A fine break by Jack Moorhouse, with support from Scott Briggs and Joe Kelly, put Adam Aigbokhae over for a try, and McGovern added the conversion for a 10-0 lead.

Wirral responded and with Sale caught offside, visiting full-back James Annetts kicked a penalty.

Sale continued with their expansive game and approaching the half hour Matt Simpson finished a fine move with a try in the corner.

Wirral had more of the play nearing half time and Annetts narrowed the score to 15-6 at the break.

Danny Waddy extended Sale’s lead with a try two minutes into the second half.

Near the hour, a strong run from Tom Davenport opened the floodgates in the Wirral defence as he linked well with Moorhouse to put him in for the bonus point try.

Two minutes later Ciaran Connolly finished off a superb move with a try and from the restart Sale again went on attack.

McGovern, who had already added a conversion to Moorhouse’s try, raced through a gap in the Wirral defence to touch down and add the extras.

In the final minutes, Sam Stelmaszek raced in for his seventh try of the season to cap an excellent day for the home side.