Leicester 21-16 Sale: Adam Radwan scores two tries in Gallagher Premiership semi-final to set up final with Bath

Adam Radwan scored two electric tries as Leicester set up a Gallagher Premiership final against Bath by edging Sale 21-16 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

Radwan struck twice in the first half as the Tigers surged 13-3 ahead at the break and they eventually sealed their place at Allianz Stadium next Saturday when Izaia Perese sprinted over with 12 minutes remaining.

But Leicester were forced to withstand a fightback in the second half, which saw Sale level the match 16-16 in the 66th minute before the Tigers' attack came back to life and Perese's try secured a spot in the final.

Retiring club greats Dan Cole and Ben Youngs, as well as the departing Handre Pollard, Julian Montoya and Michael Cheika, their Australian head coach, will now have the chance to end their time with the Tigers lifting a trophy.

Cheika watched as Leicester played some of their best rugby on his watch to take Sale apart before the break. The Sharks responded admirably and took a hard-fought play-off to the wire with a late barrage of attacks, but the hosts had the resilience to hold out.

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The early exchanges lived up to expectations as the league's two most physical teams clashed to reach the final.

The Tigers were defending hard while Sale won turnovers through Tom Curry and Bevan Rodd at key moments, with penalties from Pollard and George Ford ensuring there was little to separate them on the scoreboard.

Both scrums had their moments but it was Leicester's that helped deliver the first big highlight of the semi-final by providing the launchpad for Radwan's opener in the 20th minute.

Sale were shunted backwards and, one phase later, Jack van Poortvliet flung out a long pass to the jet-heeled right wing, who stepped inside a posse of three covering defenders before sprinting over with an acrobatic dive.

Eight minutes later, Leicester were over again courtesy of some magic from their dynamic finisher.

An unmarked Radwan was screaming for the ball as his pack battered the whitewash and once it reached Pollard's hands, the South Africa fly-half overhit his kick.

But the two-cap England back had the speed, agility and reflexes to turn Pollard's rare kicking error into a beautifully-finished try.

With the score at 13-3, Sale began the second half with a sense of urgency that was rewarded by a Ford penalty, and they were back in contention.

The Sharks were dominating the third quarter and Rob du Preez changed the match with a try that saw Pollard clatter the uprights in the 58th minute. Pollard later had to leave the field for an head injury assessment following a big hit from Ben Curry. A long-range penalty by Ford in the 66th minute levelled the score at 16-16.

Leicester exploded back into life when a powerful driving maul saw the ball released to Perese, whose smart line and raw speed swept him over.

Ben Curry followed his brother into the dugout - his afternoon ended by a hamstring injury - and while Sale threw everything at their opponents, there was no passing the defensive wall in front of them.

"Winning the Premiership is the achievement"

"This is not an achievement for me - winning it (the Premiership) is the achievement," said Cheika, Leicester coach who will lead the team in the final for the last time.

"I don't want to be a sad sack, but I can't leave any room for complacency around how well we've done to make it.

"I've been doing this for too long. You get to a World Cup final, you think about how good that is and then when you lose, it's the worst feeling you'll ever have.

"I want to make sure that I leave no room in my own personal performance to allow anything to derail our preparation."

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