Greig Laidlaw’s late penalty meant Sale’s unbeaten Premiership record – stretching back just a shade over a year – came to an end in their very last match at the AJ Bell Stadium this season. In truth, Gloucester deserved their 12-11 win in a scrappy, frustrating match characterised by their own poor final pass in good positions and by Sale’s tenacious, albeit once-too-often ill-disciplined defence.
Gloucester will have been frustrated to go in level 6-6 at half-time, the – former? – England fly-half Danny Cipriani kicking two penalties for the hosts and the Scotland captain Laidlaw responding in kind. David Humphreys’ side were rampant in the 20 minutes either side of the break but constantly ran into desperate tackles or threw passes behind the men out wide. Naturally, such profligacy was punished.
A missed tackle in midfield meant that Sale were able to muscle their way deep into Gloucester territory and, after a series of drives at the line, Johnny Leota was adjudged to have burrowed over for a try on 54 minutes after spinning off the base of a ruck. However Cipriani pushed his conversion crucially wide.
Gloucester’s heads did not drop though and Sale, stretched in defence, began to show the effects of their defensive effort. A pair of offences at the breakdown in the final 10 minutes presented Laidlaw with two shots at goal from near enough in front. As anyone who has watched Scotland lately already knew, he was never likely to miss.
The result keeps Gloucester, eighth in the Premiership table, in contention for a place in next season’s European Champions Cup. It also all but ends Sale’s already slim hopes of a place in the play-offs: Leicester are five points clear with a game in hand and the fifth-placed Sharks have just one game remaining as well as a 40-point inferior points difference.
