The Dragons were without a number of first team players but that did not deter them as they took the game to Sale for the full 80 minutes and scored tries through Richard Fussell and Sione Tuipulotu.
Speaking after the match Coach Paul Turner said, “It was always going to be a difficult task against one of the best sides in England and we started off poorly. But the longer the game went on, the more of it we had and we went toe-to-toe with them.”
Mark Cueto scored a brace for Sale while Sebastien Chabal and Charlie Hodgson scored the other two tries.
Sale got the first points on the board with a Hodgson penalty as Sale gained the ascendancy in the scrum. In the 12th minute Sale scored the first try from a lineout lock Dean Schofield took the catch and fed Chabal who wheeled round the blindside and charged 20 metres before breaking the tackle of Aled Thomas to score the try.
The Dragon struck back 10 minutes later when Fussell took advantage of the overlap to score in the corner following some good work from his Dragons teammates.
Sale replied with Cueto’s first try after Sale won a scrum against the head and Hodgson picked up and fed Cueto who beat opposite number Ben Breeze to score in the corner.
One minute and 20 seconds into the second half and Sale got their third, Cueto again with the touchdown, Robinson made his archetypal jinking run and fed Hodgson who raced clear, passed to Cueto who sped down the wing to score under the posts for a converted try. However,The Dragons hit back on the 55th minute with a try when Tuipulotu brushed Hodgson aside to score.
However Hodgson made amends by claiming Sale’s fourth and bonus point claiming try when he squeezed over in the corner.
The final period of the match was relatively lifeless as Sale made replacements. Sale’s win keeps them at the top of Pool 1 while The Dragons face a French challenge as they take on Castres at Rodney Parade on Saturday 21st January kick off 5.15pm.
