Sale v Cardiff Blues

[An Tarbh]

<div align='center'>

V

</div>

You'd expect to see a much different Sale side from the one which offered so little especially in the first hour at Toulouse on Sunday.

The Blues for their part may well have started well with the win over Quins, but at what cost, having lost ***o, Thomas, Yapp and Davis for the trip to Sale to add to what isn't a short injury list either.

Gethin Jenkins is in contention to return for the Blues so that's something at least.

 

[Blindside6]

Sale team - from their website

15 Nick Macleod
14 Mark Cueto
13 Andy Tuilagi
12 Lee Thomas
11 Ben Cohen
10 Charlie Hodgson
9 Dwayne Peel
8 Sisa Koyamaibole
7 David Seymour
6 Carl Fearns
5 Dean Schofield
4 James Gaskell
3 Eifion Lewis Roberts
2 Marc Jones
1 Andrew Sheridan

16 Neil Briggs
17 Gavin Kerr
18 Jack Forster
19 Sean Cox
20 Luke Abraham
21 Richard Wigglesworth
22 Mathew Tait
23 Chris Bell

http://www.salesharks.com/news/charl...gainst-cardiff

 

[Blindside6]

Blues team

15 Ben Blair
14 Leigh Halfpenny
13 Tom Shanklin
12 Jamie Roberts
11 Tom James
10 Sam Norton-Knight
9 Richie Rees

8 Andy Powell
7 Robin Sowden Taylor
6 Sam Warburton
5 Scott Morgan
4 Deiniol Jones
3 Taufa'au Filise
2 Gareth Williams
1 Gethin Jenkins ©

16 T Rhys Thomas
17 Darren Morris
18 Gary Powell
19 Ben White
20 Rhys Williams
21 Gareth Cooper
22 Ceri Sweeney
23 Richard Mustoe

It's going to be a very tough ask for the Blues to win this game. The whole team but particularly the forwards have been decimated by injury. This is highlighted by the fact that we have 2 hookers on the bench, TRT Thomas & Rhys Williams.

 

[dullonien]

Blues team, yay Gethin Jenkins is back. But Rush is missing due to the flue!

01 Gethin Jenkins
02 Gareth Williams
03 Taufa'au Filise
04 Deiniol Jones
05 Scott Morgan
06 Sam Warberton
07 Robin Sowden Taylor
08 Andy Powell

09 Richie Rees
10 Sam Norton Knight
11 Leigh Halfpenny
12 Jamie Roberts
13 Tom Shanklin
14 Tom James
15 Ben Blair

Still a good team which is perfectly capable of beating a Sale team minus stars, even away.

Edit: beaten to it by Blindisde6

 

[Bluemoon]

Massive, must win game if Cardiff are thinking of topping the group.

On paper thats still a good side, only the second row is a little lightweight. We will miss Rush massively, for both his ball carrying and just his leadership in general. Still enough class there to sneak a win if the backrow provide fast ball.

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

Gethin's back! Hurrah! Never seen him captain before, though.

Neither squads look bad on paper. Peel could well be key for Sale.

 

[Sir Speedy]

Cardiff either win this game or can forget about qualifying. Toulouse will win this fixture for sure.

 

[Olyy]

Peel had a great game last week, which considering the circumstances, is rather good.
I'd be happy with a losing bonus point, i can't see us beating Cardiff, and with melon back in the scrum, we're screwed

 

[Thingimubob]

Blues to do everything they can to lose this probably <_< injuries are killing us atm as well.

 

[Olyy]

Blair with a penalty, putting cardiff pinks 0 - 3 up

 

[Olyy]

and another, 0 - 6

Cardiff cutting us apart, and getting too many turnovers in our half/22 =/

 

[Sir Speedy]

Halfpenny has missed two penalties. Perhaps it's time to go for territory instead of hoping for him to find form.

Edit: Shut up, Speedy, he finally nails one. 3 - 9.

Sale score a deserved try. Against the run of play slightly but their phases of play to set it up were ruthless. 8 - 9.

Hodgson nails the conversion. 10 - 9.

 

[feicarsinn]

Cardiff suck, like the rest of Wales. Sale try, woot.

 

[Olyy]

Sale 10 - 9 Cardiff
Andy Powell in the bin for something aswell (not got any sound on so cant hear what the ref said)

 

[Sir Speedy]

Will Greenwood isn't happy with Powell's yellow card as the replay shows it was for a mere push on Peel...

James.... Worst. Knock-on. Ever.

 

[Sir Speedy]

Cardiff can feel hard done by. The absence of Powell leads to Sale's second try by Schofield. 15 - 9.

That's 17 - 9 now.

 

[Olyy]

Another try =D
17 - 9

 

[Sir Speedy]

Christ. Sale running rampant at the moment. Cardiff barely preventing a third try by the skin of their teeth.

Half time. 17 - 9.

 

[feicarsinn]

Wow, wouldn't have seen this coming after last week, but hey it is a different Sale team. I'm not really paying that much attention to this one so can I ask how the game itself is going, score aside?

 

[Olyy]

For the first 25ish minutes Cardiff were dominating, consistently getting into our twenty two, and alot of picking through out defensive line/close to getting some tries
Scrum seems about equal tbh, but i suppose its Jenkins' first game back in so can't really expect great things.
Sale picked up towards the end of the second half, don't think they're really dominating (first try was a pickup and drive kind of affair, not a spectacular run), but playing about as well as cardiff, but with powell off they did hammer them a bit in the last 2-3 mins, almost getting the second try.