Aviva Premiership: Wasps hand Sale hard lesson at Ricoh Arena

Andy Goode: Kicked a total of 16 points for Wasps

Two timely tries from Joe Simpson and 16 points from the boot of Andy Goode gave Wasps a 41-16 win over Sale at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday.

Further tries from loose trio James Haskell, Nathan Hughes and Ashley Johnson assured Wasps of the bonus point as they continued their bid for a play-off spot.

Dai Young’s men now find themselves in fourth place in the Aviva Premiership after stringing together three consecutive wins.

Though he didn’t score a try of his own, Christian Wade was the cause of continual trouble for the Sale defence, and it was his break that earned Haskell the first try of the game.

A run from Elliot Daly in the closing stages of the opening quarter paved the way for Hughes to add to the Sale woes.

Fly-half Joe Ford kept the Sharks in the hunt early in the game with three penalties of his own, but Goode’s conversion of Hughes’ try meant that the visitors were 17-9 down in the 23rd minute, a deficit from which they were unable to recover.

Goode then slotted over a drop-goal and the scores seemed likely to remain in place until the second half but Sale full-back Mike Haley found himself isolated in the final play, and after Nathan Hughes turned the ball over Simpson took the half-time score to 27-9.

Simpson dented the hopes of the visitors even further as he crossed the line within minutes of the second half starting, prompting Sale to bring on Danny Cipriani and Mark Cueto to stop the rot.

Neither were able to help, though, as Wasps then took to scoring through a driving maul, with Ashley Johnson the beneficiary as Wasps broke through 40 points.

Wasps lost flanker James Gaskell to the sin bin in the 74th minute and Sale were able to cross for a try of their own shortly after, but Steve Diamond’s men had well and truly been beaten by that stage, leaving Coventry without a single point for their trouble.