Exiles shut out Sale

London Irish powered back into the play-off positions in the Guinness Premiership with a comprehensive 38-0 hammering of lowly Sale at the Madejski Stadium.

The Exiles leapfrogged Wasps to move into fourth place in the table as they secured a welcome win after a run of only one win in their previous nine matches in all competitions.

John Rudd's try after just five minutes set the tone for a dreadful afternoon for the Sharks, with Steffon Armitage adding two more scores along with one each for Peter Hewat and replacement prop Alex Corbisiero.

Ryan Lamb also kicked three penalties and a conversion, while Chris Malone hit on conversion to seal the emphatic bonus-point rout of relegation-threatened Sale.

It was carnival time from the moment former Newcastle winger Rudd, recruited in mid-season to alleviate an injury crisis, powered over with Sharks flanker David Seymour hanging on to him.

Delon return

England full-back Delon Armitage, dropped by Martin Johnson for the final RBS Six Nations match against France in Paris, crossed in the 13th minute after Lamb and centre Elvis Seveali'I set up his run, but referee Dean Richards ruled out the try for a forward pass.

Lamb passed his personal 500-point mark in the Guinness Premiership with his first penalty in the 16th minute and added two more in the first half to send the home side in with a 14-0 interval lead.

Sale ignored the talents of England winger Mark Cueto, playing at full-back, World Cup winner Ben Cohen, England centre Mathew Tait and the Wales duo Dafydd James and Dwayne Peel, as they persisted in trying to drive their forward juggernaut down the middle.

Their only real scoring opportunity came when they were awarded a 22nd-minute penalty but fly-half Charlie Hodgson missed from 40 metres.

The second Irish try came five minutes into the second half when younger Armitage brother Steffon finished in the right-hand corner following an initial break by strong-running number eight Chris Hala'ufia.

Back row blitz

Seven minutes later the back row duo struck again with Hala'ufia charging into the Sale defence before off-loading to Armitage who went over near the posts to leave Lamb an easy conversion.

The bonus point came when Lamb and Seilala Mapusua combined for Rudd, coming in on the angle, to pop the ball up for Hewat to score in the left corner.

They scored again after opting for the scrum instead of a penalty, and three forward drives broke down the Sale resistance before Corbisiero forced his way over, leaving Malone an easy kick.

Defeat leaves Sale, who ended their eight-match losing run in all competitions with a 19-8 victory over Wasps the previous weekend, two points above bottom club Worcester as their struggle to avoid the drop continues.