Sale cruise to dominant bonus point win to leave Newcastle rock bottom
A brace of tries each from Arron Reed and Tom Roebuck gave Sale Sharks a third win from four games as they demolished Newcastle Falcons 43-10 in the Gallagher Premiership.
With a fine home record, Sale took just four minutes for Reed to score his first of two tries.
Newcastle had just an Ethan Grayson penalty for their efforts in the first half as errors at both ends of the pitch cost them.
Meanwhile, a penalty try and Will Addison effort sealed the bonus point for the Sharks with just 35 minutes gone.
Roebuck then turned his performance into a try to put Sale out of sight, before Callum Chick drove his way over for Newcastle’s only try of the game.
However, it was Sale’s night and Roebuck completed the scoring with his side’s sixth try eight minutes from time.
Sale full-back Joe Carpenter celebrated his 50th appearance for the club and said that building on his side’s win over Gloucester last week was important.
“We spoke about getting back-to-back wins and thought that it was massively important for us to build momentum,” he told TNT Sports.
“It’s a very proud moment for me and my family to get to the 50 (appearances), it has come around really quick.
“We played Newcastle in pre-season and that was a similar story, we scored early and that ended up 40-39 and so we didn’t want them to get back into the game.”
Talking Point – Steve Diamond has huge job in turning Newcastle into winning side
After failing to win a single Gallagher Premiership game last season Newcastle’s director of rugby Steve Diamond has to find a way for his side to pick up points.
The Falcons, who are without a victory in 25 games, conceded seven tries against Leicester last weekend and six more against Sale.
Diamond has urged his side to be “good rugby players” and “attack both sides of the ball in defence”.
He will be hoping for an improved performance when they host Exeter Chiefs next Friday night, live on TNT Sports.
Player of the Match – Tom Roebuck (Sale Sharks)
The right winger was in explosive form from the opening minutes and left the visiting defence chasing shadows throughout.
The ruthless nature and quality in the air of Roebuck was shown with his side’s sixth try, grabbing the ball from up high before regaining his feet quickly to dot down.
With Arron Reed also scoring a brace on the opposite wing and George Ford set to return, the Salford side are going to be force to be reckoned with this season.
Player Ratings
Sale Sharks: McIntyre 7, Cowan-Dickie 7, Harper 7, Bamber 7, Andrews 7, Van Rhyn 7, B Curry 8, T Curry 7, Warr 8, R Du Preez 8, Reed 7, Bedlow 7, Addison 7, Roebuck 8, Carpenter 8. Replacements: Caine 6, Onasanya 6, Opoku-Fordjour 6, Beaumont 6, D Du Preez 7, Thomas 6, Curtis 6, Dugdale 6
Newcastle Falcons: Brocklebank 6, Blamire 6, Palframan 6, Rubiolo 7, Hawkins 6, Van der Walt 6, Gordon 6, Chick 7, Stuart 6, Grayson 7, Stevenson 6, Hutchinson 7, Spencer 7, Radwan 6, Obatoyinbo 6. Replacements: Fletcher 6, De Bruin 6, McCallum 6, Lockwood 6, Scott 6, Davis 6, Metcalf 6, Brown 6
Match Highlights
5 -TRY! SALE SHARKS (REED) 7-0 NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Reed is spotted in space on the wing and kick across the pitch by Du Preez releases his team-mate over. Du Preez converts to take a seven-point lead
21 -TRY! SALE SHARKS (REED) 14-3 NEWCASTLE FALCONS: A magic moment from Carpenter sees him kick over the top and then gather the ball that sat up. Spinning with the ball under a tackle Carpenter then finds Reed who jinks inside and clear for his second try. Du Preez converts.
29 – PENALTY TRY! SALE SHARKS 21-3 NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Reed is released again out wide. However, this time Radwan catches his opponent and hold him up.
The resulting line-out is a driven over in a maul. Sale throw everything at trying to collapse the maul and a penalty try is conceded with Chick also yellow carded.
36 – TRY! SALE SHARKS (ADDISON) 28-3 NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Curry finds Warr with a nice pass and the scrum-half tries to kick through only for Hutchinson to touch down in his own try-line.
The resulting scrum is pulled out and a decoy allows Addison to find enough space to score. Du Preez converts once again.
45 – TRY! SALE SHARKS (ROEBUCK) 35-3 NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Ben Curry starts the move passing to Bedlow who carries forward and then sends a perfect pass out to Roebuck who steps inside the covering defender to score.
An excellent conversion from Du Preez from out wide adds the extras.
49 -TRY! SALE SHARKS 28-10 NEWCASTLE FALCONS (CHICK): Newcastle break before Hutchinson is held up a metre from the try-line. However, the ball comes back out for Chick who drives over. Cowan-Dickie sees yellow for his efforts of illegally trying to prevent the try.
Grayson coverts from under the posts.
72 -TRY! SALE SHARKS 43-10 NEWCASTLE FALCONS: Du Preez capitalises on a mistake by the visitors and gains ground while fending off the tackle. The ball is driven along the Falcons’ line over 18 phases.
The ball is eventually kicked out to Roebuck who beats the last defender and regains his feet to drive over. Curtis kicks this one wide.
Key Stats
Newcastle are now 25 Gallagher Premiership matches without a win – a run dating back 19 months.Newcastle conceded 10 penalties compared to Sale’s sevenStream the Gallagher Premiership, 2024 Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women’s Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
