Saint-Andre: 'That's not too bad'
Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:56
Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre hailed his side after they recorded a 27-13 victory over Leicester to climb into second place in the Guinness Premiership on Friday night.
The Sharks had lost their previous four outings in three different competitions at Edgeley Park, but tries from Mark Cueto and Mathew Tait helped them to a 17-0 lead after 30 minutes.
Leicester rallied strongly after the break and touched down through Aaron Mauger in the 47th minute. But Sale held on after wing David Doherty was sin-binned in the final quarter, and Rory Lamont added a third try shortly before the final whistle.
A 13-12 success at Wasps last weekend breathed new life into Sale's Premiership campaign after their most recent home defeat - a woeful 17-9 reverse against Worcester.
After the win Saint-Andre said: "I think we played very well in the first half and we had opportunities to maybe score another try and also missed two penalties.
"We had a lot of chances. But in the second half we didn't have the ball enough, and Leicester are a good team. They attacked the line and came back strongly, but the defence was fantastic.
"We scored three tries, denied Leicester a bonus point and have now won six of our eight Guinness Premiership matches this season. That's not too bad. The first half was a very, very good performance - the best in the Premiership this season."
The only 'negative' for Sale was the recurrence of a hamstring to Tait, who was withdrawn and may now miss next week's clash against Montauban in the Heineken Cup.
Saint-Andre, who also withdrew fly-half Charlie Hodgson at half-time after he complained of flu symptoms, said: "Tait felt his hamstring again.
"He's getting better each week but he's still not 100%. He's been struggling for the last few weeks and he's still not at full speed."
Leicester head coach Heyneke Meyer was left to reflect on a below-par first-half performance, in which Sale were dominant. Although the Tigers rallied, it was ultimately to no avail - and it was significant that the hosts finished the stronger when Lamont raced clear to touch down.
Meyer said: "We always had to chase the game, because we weren't smart enough in the first half.
"In the second half we played most of the rugby. But when you don't take your chances and can't defend turnovers you're always going to be chasing the game.
"We expect to win every single game that we play. We're playing much better rugby at the moment - but ultimately it is what is on the scoreboard that counts."
With thanks to www.guinnesspremiership.com
