| Sale: (10) 28 |
| Tries: B Curry, Van der Merwe, Carpenter Cons: R du Preez 2 Pens: R du Preez 3 |
| Exeter: (10) 20 |
| Tries: Cowan-Dickie, S Maunder Cons: Slade 2 Pens: Slade 2 |
Exeter was defeated by Sale Sharks to give the Chiefs their first loss of the season.
Luke Cowan-Dickie was defeated by Ben Curry’s pushover attempt just before half-time. The teams were level at the break.
Sale was led by Akker van de Merwe in the first half, but Sam Maunder equalized the scores shortly afterwards.
Rob du Preez was penalized again, and Joe Carpenter made his debut to win. Henry Slade failed to score a penalty late in the game which would have earned him a losing bonus point.
Sale moves up to second in the Premiership table, while Exeter drops to third. The win sees Saracens leapfrogging Exeter to the top of the Premiership table after their win over Leicester.
Exeter was the dominant force in early possession and territory. They were rewarded by Cowan-Dickie, who came up from a rolling maul of 12 minutes after a five-metre line-out.
Slade and Du Preez exchanged penalties just before Curry’s attempt five minutes after the break. Exeter saw start locks Jack Dunne, Dafydd Jenkins and scrum-half Stu townsend get injured.
After Olly Woodburn created an opening in Sale’s defence, a pushy attempt by van der Merwe in the first half was cancelled. Maunder went in under posts.
Exeter should have been ahead five minutes later, but Stuart Hogg failed in his attempt to catch Harvey Skinner’s pass while the try-line gaping.
It was a mistake they would regret as du Preez hit his second three pointer after Sale had missed from close range an hour prior to Carpenter’s call.
After Sale had taken the Exeter defense in, the 21-year old started his Premiership match.
Du Preez kicked his third penalty in the final two minutes to deny Exeter a bonus as Slade’s last attempt from the tee missed it.
Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, James, Tuilagi, O’Flaherty; R du Preez, Warr; McIntyre, van der Merwe, Oosthuizen, Wiese, J Hill, T Curry, B Curry (capt), D du Preez
Replacements: Ashman, Rodd, Harper, Ross, JL du Preez, Simpson, S Hill, Reed
Exeter: Hogg, O’Loughlin; Slade, Whitten; Woodburn; Skinner; Townsend, Cowan-Dickie, Cowan (capt), Williams; Dunne; Jenkins, Kirsten; Vermeulen; S Simmonds
Replacements: Yeandle, Iosefa-Scott, Schickerling, Van Heerden, Capstick, S Maunder, J Simmonds, Kata
Referee: Wayne Barnes