Sharks draw sting from Wasps
Charlie Hodgson guided Sale to a 19-8 victory over Wasps on Friday night that breathes new life into their relegation fight.
Last Updated: 19/03/10 11:26pm
Charlie Hodgson guided Sale to a 19-8 victory over Wasps on Friday night that breathes new life into their Guinness Premiership relegation fight.
The fly-half landed three penalties in the first-half and converted Richard Wigglesworth's try after the break as Sharks snapped an eight-match losing run.
Kingsley Jones' side led 9-0 at the interval and it was an advantage they refused to surrender against a Wasps outfit lacking energy and desire.
The London-based side did retaliate with a 53rd-minute try through Ben Jacobs but only moments later Wigglesworth regained the initiative for his side following a mistake in the Wasps defence.
Hodgson converted a difficult penalty after six minutes when Wasps infringed at the scrum although the visitors did have the chance to respond, but David Lemi twice let his team-mates down with poor handling.
Fly-half Dave Walder failed to level the scores as his side deserved but another decent opening came when Steve Kefu found Paul Sackey in the clear, but the pass was deemed to be forward.
Hodgson twice extended the lead before the break as the Sharks scrum continued to hold the upper hand over their counterparts, and Danny Cipriani was brought into the action after the break to give Wasps some creativity.
And the move soon paid off as the former England stand-off sent Jacobs away for the first score of the game, although he failed to add the extras.
Wigglesworth then collected a loose ball to touch down at the other end and with Hodgson's conversion Sale were out of sight with an hour on the clock.
Cipriani pulled three points back for the visitors but Wigglesworth was on the mark six minutes from time to add further gloss to the final scoreline.
