Sale 28-27 Wasps: Sharks edge thriller with last minute try
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 06/04/18 11:04pm
Marland Yarde touched down with the clock in the red as Sale Sharks defeated Wasps 28-27 in a remarkable game at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Dai Young's Wasps side began the match superbly and deservedly went 17-0 ahead via a Josh Bassett brace and Elliot Daly's three-pointer. But they were unable to hold that buffer.
Sale hit back with 23 unanswered points through Rob Webber, Byron McGuigan and Bryn Evans touchdowns, while AJ MacGinty added a conversion and two penalties.
Unperturbed, Wasps responded through Daly and then moved four points clear via the boot of Jimmy Gopperth. They would hold that lead until the last play of the game when Yarde crossed the whitewash to move the Sharks closer to the top four of the Aviva Premiership.
Young's side dominated proceedings early on, while the Sharks were lacklustre and Josh Bassetts' two tries were just rewards for the visitors.
Danny Cipriani was pulling the strings from fly-half and his decision-making in the pivot position gave Willie le Roux an opportunity to run at the hosts' fringe defence. The full-back then drew Mike Haley and Bassett crossed the
whitewash for a 17-0 advantage.
Having been outplayed in the first quarter, Sale were rewarded with a three-pointer from MacGinty.
That provided the catalyst the hosts needed to stage an excellent comeback. Webber burrowed over to give them hope. MacGinty added the extras and then produced a neat cross-field kick for McGuigan to score and reduce the arrears further at the interval.
Buoyed by that end to the half, the Sharks maintained their form at the start of the second period and Evans charged down Dan Robson's attempted clearance. Under pressure, the lock did well to pick up and touch down, giving the hosts the lead for the first time in the encounter.
MacGinty extended that buffer to six points from the tee before Wasps responded in style. This time Christian Wade was the instigator, breaking through the middle and off-loading for Daly to cross the whitewash.
In a see-saw game, the match took another twist when former Sale man Cipriani was yellow carded for a cynical infringement, but the visitors handled the setback impressively.
They controlled possession well and earned a penalty, which Gopperth converted, as the visitors went into the final 10 minutes in front.
However, the Sharks looked for the winner and were boosted by James Haskell's sin-binning. Cipriani was then worryingly taken off on a stretcher after a clash of heads with Faf de Klerk before Yarde's winning score completed a dramatic finale.
