SALE
No.Name
15Nick Macleod, FB
14Mark Cueto, W
13Chris Bell, C
12Lee Thomas, C
5
11Ben Cohen, W
10Charlie Hodgson, FH
9Richard Wigglesworth, SH
1Eifion Lewis-Roberts, P
2Marc Jones, H
3Jack Forster, P
4Chris Jones, L
5Dean Schofield, L
6James Gaskell, FL
7Neil Briggs, FL
8Sisa Koyamaibole, N8
Replacements
16Mo Schwalger, FL
17Gavin Kerr, P
18Martin Halsall, P
19David Tait, N8
20Luke Abraham, H
21Will Cliff, -
22Mathew Tait, C
23Andy Tuilagi, C

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Edgeley Park, Stockport
7:45 PM, September 4, 2009
Attendance: 8,751
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

80'15-12 End of second half
76'Player substituted - Lee Thomas , Sale Sharks
76'Substitute on - Andy Tuilagi , Sale Sharks
73'Substitute on - David Tait , Sale Sharks
73'Player substituted - Sisa Koyamaibole , Sale Sharks
71'Player substituted - Eifion Lewis-Roberts , Sale Sharks
71'Substitute on - Gavin Kerr , Sale Sharks
70'15-12 Penalty goal - Jeremy Staunton , Leicester Tigers
65'Substitute on - Mo Schwalger , Sale Sharks
65'Player substituted - Neil Briggs , Sale Sharks
65'Substitute on - Martin Halsall , Sale Sharks
65'Player substituted - Jack Forster , Sale Sharks
61'Player substituted - Martin Castrogiovanni , Leicester Tigers
61'Substitute on - Julian White , Leicester Tigers
59'Player substituted - Marc Jones , Sale Sharks
59'Substitute on - Luke Abraham , Sale Sharks
59'Substitute on - Mefin Davies , Leicester Tigers
59'Player substituted - Louis Deacon , Leicester Tigers
59'Substitute on - Ben Kay , Leicester Tigers
59'Player substituted - George Chuter , Leicester Tigers
57'Player substituted - Ben Woods , Leicester Tigers
57'Substitute on - Lewis Moody , Leicester Tigers
53'Substitute on - Mathew Tait , Sale Sharks
53'Player substituted - Chris Bell , Sale Sharks
52'15-9 Penalty goal - Lee Thomas , Sale Sharks
51'12-9 Penalty goal - Lee Thomas , Sale Sharks
42'9-9 Penalty goal - Jeremy Staunton , Leicester Tigers
40'9-6 Start of second half
40'9-6 End of first half
35'9-6 Penalty goal - Jeremy Staunton , Leicester Tigers
32'9-3 Penalty goal - Lee Thomas , Sale Sharks
28'6-3 Penalty goal - Lee Thomas , Sale Sharks
27'Yellow card - Louis Deacon , Leicester Tigers
20'Danny Hipkiss, in the centre for Leicester, has all the time in the world to think about his latest musical project. Somebody pass him the ball. Now.
19'Ayerza and Castro are still rumbling on for Leicester, not getting much change out of the Sale defence though. The backs look like they're waiting for a bus.
18'The game is stuck on halfway at the moment, plenty of rust on display. Staunton has looked decent at fly-half for the Tigers, he's got a job to do with Flood out for the foreseeable future.
17'Fatty, Feedback: "Not a fan of Thomas' tattoos, decent kick though." Right, you tell him that. We'll stand behind you and shout "YEAH!" at all the right moments.
16'Penalty It's a good strike and that's 3-3. They're knocking lumps out of each other here. Meanwhile, Jenko is on his third Calippo - he's keeping us up to date with all the news from the ground using some interweb magic and Twitter
16'3-3 Penalty goal - Lee Thomas , Sale Sharks
15'Thomas is lining it up. Checking his hair, striking the pose.
14'Sale have finally got their hands on the ball, the young blindside Gaskell charges upfield. He's shifting for a big lad and the Tigers scramble frantically to drag him down. Rose has seen something he doesn't like though, that's a Sharks penalty.
13'Talking of England fly-halves - anyone following the Top 14 now that Wilkinson has made the switch? Don't forget you can follow the action on ESPN in the UK.
12'Chris M, Feedback: "Hodgson? Are you sure Badger? Too old. Too slow. Too Hodgson." That's told you.
11'Penalty At last! A score! Jeremy Staunton's boot gives the Tigers a deserved lead after referee David Rose ran out of patience with the Sharks' forwards. I've had enough of this three strikes and your out rubbish - one warning should suffice.
11'0-3 Penalty goal - Jeremy Staunton , Leicester Tigers
10'Matthew Tait gets a run for the Sharks as they are forced into an early replacement. Is this going to be the season the waif-like poster boy comes good? I hope so.
9'Superb break from Sale's Ben Cohen on his return to the Premiership. Still got gas to burn. ESPNscrum's Huw Baines went to watch him race a husky earlier this month - I kid you not.
8'Badger, Scrum Forum: "Charlie Hodgson has been treated badly by England - he could still cut it on the international stage." Bold call Badger - am afraid he's had his chance.
7'Castrogiovanni really is a monster in the Tigers' front row. He is slowly devouring the man-mountain that is Sale loose-head Eifion Roberts.
6'Great interview with Brian Moore in The Times this morning - Paul Kimmage piece is worth a read for the insight it gives to Moore - the Pitbull is a fascinating subject.
5'Tigers dominating proceedings here but are not making it count where it matters - make it count in the red zone or you will pay for it later.
4'Sky Sports commentator Stuart Barnes: "He doesn't know whether he's coming or going poor lad." Barnesy shows his sympathetic side.
3'Wham - not the 80s pop combo. Wigglesworth gets nailed again - it's been a long season for him already.
2'Ouch. Massive tackle from Jordan Crane on poor, defenceless Richard Wigglesworth - he didn't see it coming but we did.
1'ESPNscrum's Graham Jenkins on Twitter: "Beautiful sunny day here at England's HQ - pen in one hand - Calippo in the other." Click here to follow his updates on Twitter. He occasionally talks about rugby....
1'Here we go again - did anyone manage to have a break this summer? Now - I love rugby as much as the next man but we could at least have one month off a year?! OK, enough moaning. The race to the Premiership Final at Twickenham starts right here with the opening game of the Premiership season. Some clubs have been busier than others in the off-season and these two in particular have not been shy about flashing the cash and should be there or thereabouts come May. That is probably their cue to serve up a plate of dross here at Welford Road but let's be positive. Let's have your thoughts on this match and the season ahead via our feedback and I'll endeavour to give you moment in the limelight here. We'll also be bringing you the thoughts of our so-called experts. By the way - I'm Shaun Rusk and I'll be guiding you through today's game
1'0-0 Start of first half