The first ten minutes was actually a sign of things to come. Sale started briskly, with the majority of possession, but didn't use it particularly well, and actually went backwards. The Leeds scrum and lineout spluttered, then died, under pressure from the Sale forwards. It was all a bit erratic, though there was one memorable moment. Leeds had a kickable penalty, and it was either the worst kick ever or a deliberate ploy to catch us napping, and it very nearly worked, with the Sale defence scrambling to stop a try. That was about as near as Leeds were to get all night. Shortly after, they gave away a penalty at a scrum, Charlie kicked it and we were off the mark. In the next ten minutes, Leeds gave away two more penalties and also lost their dynamic scrum half, Joe Bedford, stretchered off. Fortunately, he suffered no lasting damage.

Sale clearly had the upper hand by this point, although we had also messed up at least two clear chances of tries, one where Seabass knocked on, and one where Lee Thomas ran into the post. Then came the moment which probably put the game beyond Leeds. Luke McAlister got free about 50 metres out and ran diagonally for the Leeds line, keeping two defenders guessing , and finally accelerating between them to score. With the conversion, we were 16-0 up after half an hour and Leeds heads began to drop. An unlucky bounce deprived Chris Mayor, chasing a deep Charlie Hodgson kick, of a chance but, in spite of continuing Sale pressure, there were no more scores in the first half.

Early in the second half, Leeds got off the mark with a penalty, but Charlie matched it a couple of minutes later, then got another, in spite of the crowd getting increasingly unhappy at our lack of adventure. We also started to swap players- Laharrague on for Mayor, Lobbe for Lund and Bell for Thomas. Laharrague, playing at full back, seemed to add some much needed penetration, but Leeds held out until five minutes from the end, where a well worked move put Chris Bell over for a try on the right, converted by Charlie to take the score to 29-3. At the very end, Will Cliff, on for Wiggy, played an impressive and lively few minutes at scrum half.

So, a bit of an oddball game, this one. Leeds were courageous, well organised and determined in defence, but showed very little in attack. Their set-piece struggled throughout, so Sale had plenty of possession, and our side, packed with internationals, should have romped home against them. Why didn't it happen? We seemed to try too hard, with lots of knock-ons, and perhaps we were just too clever. We also played safety-first to a puzzling degree, kicking penalties when well ahead, rather than going for tries. So yes, it was a comfortable win, but we never really looked like getting a bonus point, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Tigers, Wasps or Gloucester would have buried this Leeds side without mercy. Why, yet again, has our team apparently been so much less than the sum of its parts? An interesting question, which may be answered at Welford Road next weekend- watch this space. Man of the Match- Luke McAlister in my eyes, for a fine all round performance.

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