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Sale fly-half George Ford kicked a perfect four penalties as The Sharks sneaked a narrow 12-11 victory against Harlequins on the opening weekend of the Gallagher Premiership season.
A game littered with errors in difficult conditions meant that Ford took the opportunity to kick to the posts with two efforts inside the opening 28 minutes.
Harlequins were more intent on scoring tries and kicked to touch before hooker Jack Walker crossed for what would turn out to be the game’s only try. On his Quins debut Leigh Halfpenny missed the subsequent conversion.
Harlequins thought they had a second try eight minutes after the break, but in a pivotal moment Jack Kenningham could not be seen touching the ball down amid a ruck of bodies.
Former Scarlets full-back Halfpenny put Quins ahead with a 70th minute penalty, only for Ford to kick the winning points four minutes later.
Quins were left reflecting on a missed opportunity as they had the chances to take an opening day win. However, Sale also commented that they will need to cut out mistakes moving forward, which allowed the visitors to stay in the match.
“A win is a win but our 22-metre conversion needs to be better against Saracens next week,” said Sale loose-head prop Bevan Rodd
“Little things like knock-ons, scrum penalties, breakdown penalties off our feet. Silly errors that made Quins get back into the game.”
Talking Point – Sale Sharks show grit and character in season opener
After a strong end to last season to earn a play-off position Sale opened their account for the season with a battling display.
The kicking and points of George Ford was again pivotal to their success. However, the grit and determination of loose-head prop Bevan Rudd mirrored the character of his side to dig in during difficult conditions and to earn Ford scoring opportunities.
Player of the match – George Ford (Sale Sharks)
All 12 of Sale’s points came from boot of fly-half Ford who looked composed in difficult conditions for kicking.
While his counterpart Leigh Halfpenny faltered on occasions, the consistency of Ford was crucial to Sale’s success.
Ford proved key in the forward play of his side with inch-perfect cross-field kicks which unlocked the visitors’ defence.
