Sharks snap up Wasps
Sale fought back to secure a 29-18 victory over Wasps after conceding 10 points inside the first 15 minutes.
Last Updated: 17/09/11 6:44pm
Sale fought back to secure a 29-18 victory over Wasps on Saturday after conceding 10 points inside the first 15 minutes at Adams Park.
Fraser McKenzie scored his maiden try for the club following his close-season move from Edinburgh as Sale clinched their second win of the season and handed the hosts their first defeat.
Skipper David Seymour scored the visitors' other try and fly-half Nick Macleod added a further 19 points with the boot.
Macleod's opposite number Ryan Davis and former Sale centre Chris Bell scored for the hosts and Davis added a conversion and two penalties.
Macleod, promoted to lead kicking duties following Charlie Hodgson's move to Saracens, booted his side into the lead on three minutes when Wasps were caught offside.
But Wasps replied five minutes later when full-back Richard Haughton collected a fielding a kick just inside his own half and sliced through the Sale midfield.
Pressure
Haughton, making his first start of the season, offloaded to Joe Launchbury, and the England Under-20 flanker found Chris Mayor who put Bell over.
Davis added the extras to make it 7-3 and on 14 minutes slotted a three pointer to stretch the home side's lead to 10-3.
Macleod missed the opportunity to close the gap two minutes later when he saw his penalty attempt bounce off the upright.
But he made no mistake on 20 minutes with a much tougher kick from the halfway line before cutting the deficit to a single point 10 minutes later when Wasps were pinged at the scrum.
Sale began to pile on the pressure as the half closed out and hooker Marc Jones and flanker David Seymour were both held up just short of the line.
But 23-year-old former Scotland Under-19 captain McKenzie forced his way over and McLeod added the extras to put his side into the lead.
Superb
Macleod added three more on the stroke of half time after the hosts were again penalised at the scrum to take the Sharks into the break with a nine point lead.
Sale's second try came after the visitors rejected the chance of a penalty kick in favour of going for touch as the Wasps scrum continued to infringe.
Kearnan Myall took the lineout catch and his forward colleagues produced a superb rolling maul to drive over the line and Seymour grounded to make take the score to 23-10.
Macleod converted and Davis responded with a 57th-minute penalty for Wasps but the Sale fly-half cancelled out the three points five minutes later.
Davis grabbed a fine individual try with 12 minutes to go but failed to nail the conversion as the visitors went on to close out the win.
