Exeter 33-17 Sale: Chiefs romp to bonus-point win against Sharks to go top of the Premiership - Ruck
Aviva Premiership

Exeter 33-17 Sale: Chiefs romp to bonus-point win against Sharks to go top of the Premiership

26 December 2015
Rugby Rucker
  • Exeter Chiefs climbed above Saracens to the top of the Premiership table with a bonus-point win over Sale
  • Thomas Waldrom and Will Chudley went over for the Chiefs in the first half
  • Josh Beaumont’s try gave Sale an early second-half lead, but Chudley responded with his second score within a minute
  • Exeter sealed victory with tries from James Short and Tom Johnson before a late Will Hooley penalty
Exeter Chiefs climbed above Saracens to move to the top of the AvivaPremiership table with a 33-17 bonus-point win over Sale at Sandy Park on Saturday.

Chiefs crossed through Thomas Waldrom and Will Chudley in the first half but Danny Cipriani’s eagle-eyed kicking, allied to Will Addison’s score, meant the teams went in at half-time on ten points apiece.

Josh Beaumont then nudged the visitors ahead early in the second half, but back came Chiefs via the impressive Chudley and Gareth Steenson, who was not at his most accurate from the tee, nevertheless came through with an important penalty.

Then Short, denied by the TMO before the break, gave Exeter breathing room – Steenson’s conversion took the game out of a score’s reach and Tom Johnson added gloss to the win.

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Moray Low, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Michele Campagnaro

Sale: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Will Addison, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Dan Braid (c), 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Jennings

Date: Saturday, December 26
Venue: Sandy Park
Kick-off: 15:00
Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce, Andrew Pearce
TMO: Geoffrey Warren