Sale Sharks Vs Leicester Tigers
The stage was set for the biggest game in the domestic season, the highly controversial play off final between Sale sharks who topped the table and Leicester tigers who finished 2nd. Sale got to the final after constantly performing best over the season, and then beating London Wasps, the reigning champions, in an enthralling game 22-12. However, Sale would have to topple Leicester Tigers, who after 4 years without a trophy were looking hungry, and who were peaking at the right time thanks to Pat Howard’s oft criticised rotation system. Tigers had finished second, and beat the hugely impressive London Irish in the semi final in an entertaining 40-8 to secure their second successive final.
Once the most successful team in England and Europe, in their heyday they won 4 consecutive premiership titles, and back-to-back European Championships, Tigers have hit barren times recently, not having won a single title for 4 years. The departure of two legends Martin Johnson and Neil Back may have had an impact on them, and they had hoped to go out on a high last year with a Premiership title, however they were demolished by Wasps in the final of the play-offs. Two of the greatest Leicester Tigers players ever went out with a whimper, not a bang.
Sale Sharks have been something of a dark horse this season, and everyone expected the finalists to be the normal juggernauts Bath, Leicester or Wasps, as those are the only three teams who have ever won the Premiership (barring Newcastle who won it once). However Sale had made some wise transfers, bringing in Sebastian “Seabass” Chebal, the monstrous No. 8 who can make anyone’s defence quiver. Also in their powerful back-row was Lund, tipped to dual England places with Leicester’s own Lewis Moody, and Jason White, who is another powerful forward. With Saint Andre managing them to success, they seemed well placed to win the title, however finishing top had so far been a poisoned chalice, as in the first 3 years of play offs, whoever finished top went on to lose in the final against Wasps. Sale were adamant they would be able to break this cruel record.
And so they stage was set, Sale Sharks versus Leicester Tigers. The underdogs versus the favourites. Hyped to be a free flowing, fast fun game, this never once lived up to its hype. For the third time this season, Leicester choked in the big games that matter. First against Wasps in the semi final of the Powergen Cup at Millennium Stadium, then against the old enemy Bath in the quarter final of the Heineken Cup, and now in the Premiership Final against Sale. Like so often in these games, Andy Goode was at the heart of our failings. Unable to take control of the game, he fell under the spell of the majestic Charlie Hodgson, truly showing why he is England’s No. 1 fly half with a superb tactical kicking game, along with some great decisions. MOTM must of gone to Charlie, as the only Tigers players who didn’t have a complete nightmarish day was Lewis Moody, who gave nothing les than 110% effort, at every moment doing his trademark dive for the ball, and putting his body on the line, and this showed at the end when Sale intercepted the ball on their 22, he sprinted all the way back to stop them even though they had already lost the match. If the rest of the side had that type of attitude, we may have done better.
As the teams came out, there was an air of expectancy. In something of a disappointing somewhat downcast season, the clash of these two titans was hoped to provide a great spectacle that would advertise rugby at its greatest. Unfortunately, for Tigers fans it was never to be. Straight from the kick-off, Moody gave away a penalty which allowed Hodgson to give Sale the advantage. He duly obliged, and then after 8 minutes, Hodgson (again) floated a beautiful cross-field kick, knowing if it didn’t work out, he had the advantage to take the penalty. Murphy, Tigers full back, jumped up for the ball along with Mark Cueto, the current England winger who has been out of sorts recently, and with the ball taking a lucky deflection off Cueto’s leg, he scrambled over the try line to put Sale further ahead, only after the try had to be awarded by the TV referee. Hodgson missed the tough conversion, and it was again Hodgson who was at the centre of events, with his attempted kick was charged down bravely by Shane Jennings, Ollie Smith reacted first and hacked the ball through for Moody to pick up and slide over, and after confirmation by the TV ref, Goode slotted the conversion to make the score 8-7 in Sale’s favour. Both sets of fans hoped that the match would carry on in this fashion, and the match seemed finely balanced, although Sale seemed the more dangerous with ball in hand, and this showed again as at a line out on our 5m line, after a great steal from their line out, they reacted faster and after “the-evil-man” Goode fumbled Lund dropped on the ball to stretch out Sale’s lead, after for the third time today the TV ref was needed to verify the landing. A penalty goal for both sides pumped up their scores, however on the stroke of half time a piece of magic from, yes you guessed it, Hodgson, set up for a drop goal, when Leicester’s defence went to sleep, and a huge hole appeared in front of him, and he dummied one defender and sent a pass out for Fortuny to slide home to give Sale a 23-10 advantage going in.
It shows a lot about the match from my point of view when I enjoyed the half-time entertainment more than the actual match. All of the clubs mascots had been scrambled together, and they had a game of mini rugby, definitively proving who the best sides were. In a thrilling encounter, I wasn’t too sure who actually won it, however some highlights were when one of the mascots knelt down behind the referee, and one of the other mascots pushed the ref over! I imagine some of the player wanted to do that in real life. Also at the end, there was a huge ruck, and the whole crowd watched with anticipation as the Wasp threw off his large shoes, and cantered in from 50m out, and he delivered, taking someone out onto the floor, and delivering a spine crushing blow to the poor soul who was on the bottom. Anyways, that was the only thing that made me chuckle on this sad day.
The second half started in great fashion for Tigers, with Moody winning back the ball from the kick off in his traditional style, and it seemed certain we would score. We got a penalty on the 5m line, however Corry went against the normal way and opted for the lineout to try and push us over for a try, from which Tigers got another penalty, and this time Corry went for the posts, and Goode delivered the points. However, as it has been with Tigers all this season, their poor discipline saw them give away a penalty almost immediately, and Hodgson put them further in front again. Goode’s kicking from hand was nothing short on abysmal, and he hadn’t seemed to have realised that it was pouring with rain, and kept kicking high straight into their hands, unlike Sale who dealt with the conditions superbly and kicked in on the ground, and kept putting balls behind our forwards which we couldn’t deal with. When Healey came on for possibly his last ever game, he gave Tiger’s a much needed spark, however you could tell that he was getting old and past it, and even he admitted that gaps that 5 years ago he would of got through he now couldn’t, and Tiger’s indiscipline gave Sale a constant flow of point from the boot of Hodgson, as well as a drop goal. The only time Tigers made anything was when Varndell made a break up the touch line, who then passed inside to Ollie Smith, who was charging at the line, only for it to be pulled back on a alleged forward pass, which after viewing the event on the big screen would have been allowed to play on in 9 games out of 10. That, along with one of Hodgson’s penalties striking the post but still dripping over, summed up the day for Tigers. For a brief glorious moment on 74 minutes when “Big Jim” Hamilton (having got that name for being 6 foot 8 inches) heaved over the line, it seemed that the greatest ever come back was on the cards, however it was not to be, and a last gasp attack on the final whistle fell apart, with a stray pass finding its way into Mayor’s hand, which allowed him to run in from 95m. The whistle blew, and that was it. Another wasted season.
In the grand scheme of things, most Leicester fans are glad that Sale won; as it would have been a travesty on grand scales were Sale not to win, after consistently playing the best through all the season. No-one I know agrees with the play-off system, as it seems unfair that the best team over the season can not have anything to show from their efforts. It is thought that as there is no great advantage in coming first, teams weren’t bothered where they came in the table as long as they were in the top 4. In my opinion, I would get rid of the play-off system completely, but if we were to keep play-offs, I would hold a separate competition, so whoever comes top is declared champions, and then they hold the play-offs as a separate champion, possibly for charity or something similar. Even knowing the heart-ache Tigers suffered last year after finishing top of the table but then losing in the final to Wasps, I would still of preferred Tigers to have won. However, a poor performance by almost all the players proved too little to defend against the marvellous Charlie Hodgson.
