Sale FC brought Plymouth Albion down to earth with a hard-fought 26-25 victory.

On a very heavy pitch in blustery conditions, winger Jack Moorhouse scored two tries and Chris Johnson kicked an invaluable six points as Sale gave every ounce of effort to secure the victory against a side who came into the match on the back of four straight wins and a points tally of 152 in January.

The Sale pack quickly asserted themselves with solid scrummaging and an impressive drive to create an overlap for winger Jonty Rawcliffe to touch down in the third minute, only for a forward pass to nullify the effort .

Having weathered the early pressure, Albion responded positively, making ground into the Sale 22, eventually forcing a penalty in front of the posts which Connor Eastgate slotted home.

Sale were quickly on the front foot once more and despite the conditions, continued to run the ball, rewards coming with tries from Moorhouse and Johnny Leota in the 19th and 26th minutes respectively.

Not to be outdone, Albion came back with a try from No 8 John Kelly and shortly after Josh Skelcey to give Plymouth a one-point lead at half time.

The lead changed hands within minutes of the restart with Chris Johnson's excellent conversion putting Sale back in front.

Back came Albion with a score from hooker James Salter and then from Skelcey.

Sale's response was decisive, with their forwards dominant as they worked their way forward, Jarad Williams crashing over to score, restoring a slender lead.

Both teams drew on their last reserves of energy with Sale holding on to their slender one-point lead to take a well-deserved bonus point victory.