[RinTin]

15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr, 1. Bevan Rodd, 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3. James Harper, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Josh Beaumont, 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Ben Curry ©, 8. JL du Preez.  

Replacements:  

16. Tommy Taylor, 17. Ross Harrison, 18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19. Ben Bamber, 20. Hyron Andrews, 21. Sam Dugdale, 22. Raffi Quirke, 23. Sam James.

Sam still on the bench, 6-2 split, Ben Curry back.

Personally I would have liked to see Raffi and Sam start, but I can see the benefit of Raffi off the bench.

[poyntonshark]

I'd love Raffi to start, but it probably is sensible to hold back a week or two. We need some indication of some resilience. I agree re SAm though. I don't see how Rob's form is justifying selection. I hope Ben Curry truly is fit again and not rushed back, he could make a massive difference.

[RugbyMarvel]

Glad to see Ben back; with him, Bevan and LCD, you’d hope we could threaten the Exeter breakdown and slow their ball down.

6/2 split always a risk but necessary against a powerful Chiefs pack.

I felt that at points last week our attack started to look better, but also fell apart on occasion also. Hoping that they click more.

[DavenportSharky]

Exeter Chiefs

15 Josh Hodge

14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso

13 Henry Slade

12 Will Rigg

11 Olly Woodburn

10 Harvey Skinner

9 Will Becconsall

1 Scott Sio

2 Jack Yeandle

3 Ehren Painter

4 Dafydd Jenkins (c)

5 Christ Tshiunza

6 Ross Vintcent

7 Richard Capstick

8 Greg Fisilau

Replacements:

16 Dan Frost

17 Danny Southworth

18 Marcus Street

19 Lewis Pearson

20 Jack Dunne

21 Stu Townsend

22 Will Haydon-Wood

23 Zack Wimbush

[DavenportSharky]

Sale Sharks v Exeter Chiefs
Referee: Hamish Smales (15th game)
ARs: Christophe Ridley & Jonathan Healy
TMO: Dean Richards

[SSR]

Is Reed on the naughty step (I thought he was good last week )? Or is it to give TOF a shot at old colleagues? I can see TOF having difficulty with IF-W.

[RinTin]

That Chiefs back line is one I hope we can get on top off. Yes it has Feyi Wabso back, but Slade has been hit and miss, inexperience at 9 and 12, and Hodge at full back blows very hot and cold. Could be an opportunity. Maybe. Hopefully.

Their pack on the other hand is one I envy.

Fun Fact of the day - Luke Cowan Dickie is rocking up against Exeter for the first time in his career.

[Flumpty]

Is Reed on the naughty step (I thought he was good last week )? Or is it to give TOF a shot at old colleagues? I can see TOF having difficulty with IF-W.

I can see most people having difficulty with IF-W

[Olyy]

I think Slade's been excellent this season tbh, Hodge got steam rolled last week but really that's the only negative I've seen of him this season (other than his injury)



Happy with our side, and over the moon to see Ben back
Echoing the above: I would've started SJ as well, possibly Raffi but I thought Gus looked better last week than he has in a while

If we're going 6:2 I would've had Neild over Andrews as well, mainly because I don't really know anything about Andrews and Neild always gives 110% - don't really need two locks on the bench when we've two players in the starting backrow who can cover there if we did somehow get a bunch of second row injuries

I've never been a big fan of 6:2 benches though, watch us get a backs injury in the first 10 mins now!

[DavenportSharky]

You can only give 100%?

[poyntonshark]

Pedants of the world unite!

[SSR]

No! Pheasants of the world unite, surely ?

[ageinghoody]

Irregular verb!

I am precise, you are a pedant, he is a nit-picker.

[Flumpty]

popular front of judea

[Lord Elpus]

popular front of judea

Pendant alert - nah - the People's Front of Judea

On the UK Caving website a poster "inadvertently" wrote "pendant" not pedant. This stuck and now everyone uses "pendant" on the site. Pendant is also a caving term for a speleothem.

[Surbiton_Shark]

It's the hope that kills you.....

Quite fancy us for this one - having Ben Curry back is major. We're starting to balance ball in had with kicking more and looked good when I was at Bath last week.

Like others - would have been tempted to have started with Quirke - his pass and mind seem sharper than Warr though Warr's box-kicking which we had good success with, especially with Reed, worked well last week. Also would have had Sam started - Rob just seems slightly off this season

Just need a win - doesn't matter how we get it - I'm following Axe's advice and keeping the faith

[PappjeShark]

I’m getting my gripe in before kick off - if we lose, it’s because of Hamish Smales. In tandem with Ridley on the line, there’s a pair we very rarely seem to get the rub of the green from. Let’s hope Ben Curry fares better at the breakdown than Dugdale did in the friendly.

[Surbiton_Shark]

I’m getting my gripe in before kick off - if we lose, it’s because of Hamish Smales. In tandem with Ridley on the line, there’s a pair we very rarely seem to get the rub of the green from. Let’s hope Ben Curry fares better at the breakdown than Dugdale did in the friendly.

The Quins/Bath game yesterday showed another mixed performance by the ref's. A try for both side allowed when it looked extremely unlikely either was a try - however evened itself out. The debacle over the 10 min sin bin (Newcastle were at the wrong end of something similiar), and standard missing of forward passes and breakdown lottery.

[Olyy]

That looked horrible on EvR - trapped leg as he's cleared out, thought he'd snapped his shin from how he reacted

[Olyy]

God it's good to see Curry back

[RugbyMarvel]

Looking better. Curry making a difference.

Ref needs to consider a yellow soon surely. Exeter offending left right and centre.

[Olyy]

That is never a yellow, it's just a knock on

[Olyy]

Not getting my hopes up too much, after the second half last week, but a good first half
BC contributes so much to our attack, it's like having an extra centre out there - Rodd too, tbf

If we don't get our 4th try BP of the season today I'll be annoyed!

[StalyShark]

Wow! Good turnaround from last week! Well done lads!

[RugbyMarvel]

Agree it shouldn’t have been a yellow for Hodge, especially if Manus wasn’t.

Did feel that Chiefs were giving away penalities so frequently though that a yellow was coming just due to quantity in own half.

Ben making a huge difference. If only we had Tom too. JLDP and Manu also carrying fantastically. Roebuck and Carpenter both playing well also.

Gus having a decent match. Rodd is just classy. LCD defends brilliantly.

Need a 5 pointer though. Anything less isn’t enough

[Olyy]

And there's the BP!

[Olyy]

Forget Curry as an extra centre, that title's going to Asher now!

[RugbyMarvel]

Ben Curry just saying “Underhill? Pearson? Nah”

[Streatham Shark]

Another scrum pen at the first scrum for Asher.

[Olyy]

Raffi's tackle technique is shocking, so upright and with such force - when it comes off it looks good but he's a whisker from a card in every contact

[Olyy]

Well I certainly didn't see that coming!
Season still got some life in it?

[ChorltonShark]

I'd almost forgotten what it wlike like to support a winning team!

[Lord Elpus]

That defeat at Glaws will be sooooo costly.

[RugbyMarvel]

I mean I can’t really pick many negatives out of that. Ferocious in defence. Much more linked up in attack. Threat at breakdown.

Very happy. 5 points off of 4th. No prem for 3 weeks though!

[Olyy]

Good form to be taking into Europe though!

Hope EVR isn't too bad but have a feeling we won't see him again this season - looked nasty live

Dugdale getting treatment at the end too, hopefully nothing major - luckily Roebuck managed to run off whatever he was getting treatment for towards the end of the game

[Surbiton_Shark]

Super win. Big shout outs to Curry, LCD and well all the forwards pack, dugdale coming on so early did great

Lovely touches by Warr and RdP / great control by George

Showed at the end without Curry, JLDP and LCD how much power we lost, hopefully when the prem restarts we have more players back

[Flumpty]

That bloody Sanderson bloke..........................................

[PappjeShark]

I’m getting my gripe in before kick off - if we lose, it’s because of Hamish Smales. In tandem with Ridley on the line, there’s a pair we very rarely seem to get the rub of the green from. Let’s hope Ben Curry fares better at the breakdown than Dugdale did in the friendly.

Well, let’s get the culpa mea out the way - I put the mockers on myself in style there didn’t I?! Expecting a loss and a poor ref, instead I enjoyed a comprehensive win, some excellent performances, and Smales seemed to have a decent game! I was very pleased to see Luke Pearce on the line too, he’s a great official.

We’ve had plenty of negatives on the last few months so let’s enjoy the positives. A strong pack performance, the backs gelling, a bonus point win against a team above us in the table and one where we controlled much of the game. When you’re five scores ahead, you can allow a bit of harum-scarum and a bit of control disappearing. But by the same token, what a defensive set the team put in even when five scores ahead! Relentless dominant tackling. It warmed the cockles.

The key for me? As has already been noted, what a difference a Curry makes. We’ve lacked a turnover threat so much this season and he gave a true captain’s performance. I’m going to enjoy the rest of my Easter Sunday!

[Evo]

Great win....really solid set piece platform......front row in the scrum delivered including the much maligned Harper against a WC winner! Driving maul rediscovered its mojo.
Shame about EVR ... hopefully not as bad as it looked.
Can we continue to deliver play off rugby for the remainder of the season?

[Surbiton_Shark]

Forgot to mention, I know he scored a hat trick but Curry MoM for me

Also thought the Hodge yellow was extremely harsh

[Lord Elpus]

I thought Josh B did well to play the whole game. Did someone say Ben Curry got injured trying to tackle Tuilagi at England practice?

I'm getting fed up with TOF getting turned over frequently.

We have a left wing problem defensively.

[RinTin]

One swallow doesn’t make a summer and all that (first league win since December isn’t it??), but that was a top performance. Names mentioned above were great, credit to Harper too who fronted up well at Scrum time.

5 point win against Quins and we’re back in the mix. Knowing our form we’ll somehow achieve that, then lose to Newcastle….

[JohnJ of HM]

I thought George Ford had a great game too.
I was really pleased with the set piece and the defence in the last twenty five minutes.

pièce de résistance for me was the Asher side-step for his break.

I was so pleased I celebrated in Sanderson style with a glass of Malbec when I got home.

[SSR]

My throat was sore this morning. I was just about hoarse at the end of the match.
Not a perfect match but felt so excited watching it.
I don't think I have ever seen Ben Curry so tired when he went off but what a performance.
The scrum seemed absolutely solid until the front row subs by both sides, not sure what
went wrong at that point. Honorable mention to Sam Dugdale, never disappoints.
Exeter had a bad day. By and large we had a great one.
Some concerning issues with finishing again. Too many long passes when the simple one
would have been better, possibly due to having two 10s in the backline?
A bit of white line fever almost went wrong on a couple of occasions
One noticeable work-on needed in shielding the box kick receiver. IF-W seemed to get
through/over/round quite easily to disrupt the catch, not quite sure how legal some of
them were.
On a sad note TOF did not have a great game. Not sure why Reed was not playing.
I am hoping against hope that there were no significant injuries from that effort.
Last nit-pick, why was the screen on the West Stand not functioning?
Great day out, thank you lads!

[wrinklieshark]

It's very quiet in certain quarters........

[eBike]

A very encouraging result ahead of a "challenging" away euro-match against the Ospreys. Ospreys are showing some decent form but aren't tearing up trees. The fact that the match will be at Bridgend's Brewery Field could make it a tough day at the office. Cool heads will be required for sure.

Does Axe go full bore or have an eye on the premiership ? We'll soon. Thoughts ?

[Oh Danny Boy]

I thought George Ford had a great game too.
I was really pleased with the set piece and the defence in the last twenty five minutes.

pièce de résistance for me was the Asher side-step for his break.

I was so pleased I celebrated in Sanderson style with a glass of Malbec when I got home.

He had a much-improved game except for missing that absolute gift of a conversion after the try on 41 - 42 minutes.

Far less box kicking this week showed us the players can offload. There could have been an extra couple tries if they had used numbers out wide instead of white line fever but considering the score it's excusable for once.

Fingers crossed the injuries updates aren't too grim and they can carry that momentum against Ospreys and beyond.

At this point of the season, I'd be happy for Sale to finish 6th with no more injuries and tangible proof that yesterday wasn't a one-off, so we can expect more of the same performances next year.

[RinTin]

A very encouraging result ahead of a "challenging" away euro-match against the Ospreys. Ospreys are showing some decent form but aren't tearing up trees. The fact that the match will be at Bridgend's Brewery Field could make it a tough day at the office. Cool heads will be required for sure.

Does Axe go full bore or have an eye on the premiership ? We'll soon. Thoughts ?

Rotate IMO. Give the likes of Harrison, Asher, Bamber, Raffi, Bedlow and SJ starts. Veainu, Caine, Birch and Wills into the squad maybe. Play Flats at 15.

If we were beaten yesterday I'd 100% say go full bore, but we are still in with a shot of the top 4. We need to win everything though which means we need our best focused on the premiership.

I don't really want the likes of Carpenter, JLDP and Manu anywhere near this. 2 are injury prone and Carpenter is the only option we have in his position. All are hugely influential.

[Olyy]

A very encouraging result ahead of a "challenging" away euro-match against the Ospreys. Ospreys are showing some decent form but aren't tearing up trees. The fact that the match will be at Bridgend's Brewery Field could make it a tough day at the office. Cool heads will be required for sure.

Does Axe go full bore or have an eye on the premiership ? We'll soon. Thoughts ?

Play Flats at 15.

Jesus, no thank you

I think there'll be minor rotation but not a lot - few bench players start and vice versa

Biggest question mark atm is when does Ford take his mandated rest?
This week, with RdP at 10 and SJ at 13?
After getting the 5pts yesterday it changes the run in a bit as now there's still hope of making the playoffs so need to go full force every game unless it's mathematically impossible

[Buelligansmate]

I thought George Ford had a great game too.
I was really pleased with the set piece and the defence in the last twenty five minutes.

pièce de résistance for me was the Asher side-step for his break.

I was so pleased I celebrated in Sanderson style with a glass of Malbec when I got home.

He had a much-improved game except for missing that absolute gift of a conversion after the try on 41 - 42 minutes.

Far less box kicking this week showed us the players can offload. There could have been an extra couple tries if they had used numbers out wide instead of white line fever but considering the score it's excusable for once.

Fingers crossed the injuries updates aren't too grim and they can carry that momentum against Ospreys and beyond.

At this point of the season, I'd be happy for Sale to finish 6th with no more injuries and tangible proof that yesterday wasn't a one-off, so we can expect more of the same performances next year.

The ball was blown off the tee just as he was about to kick it