mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
Christian Wade equaled Chris Ashton’s record in a try to inspire Newcastle to their first win of the season at Gallagher Prem.
Wade made it 101 tries when he sprinted over in the 49th minute as Red Bulls rallied from a 3-0 interval deficit to kick Sale away 17-3 in the storm at Kingston Park.
It drew the 35-year-old winger, who has just one England cap, level with former Sale winger Ashton, who was at the stadium.
Newcastle captain George McGuigan grabbed the home’s second try and Josh Hodge added seven points with the boot for the Red Bulls.
There was little to cheer for the Sharks, who only had a George Ford penalty for their visit to the North East.
However, there was encouraging news for England head coach Steve Borthwick with the Curry twins starting together for the first time in 16 months.
Ben played an hour in his first league start for the program after missing almost all of last term with a hamstring problem, while Tom made just his fourth appearance for club and country since February, pushing his way to 10 minutes from time.
The Gallagher Prem declared Derby Weekend, a total of 150 miles separating the division’s two northern powers.
And while it wasn’t the most local event, every inch of the ground at Kingston Park was contested with exhaustion in tough conditions with a gale blowing down the field.
It was a far cry from the fireworks the two teams produced back in May when the host club stormed back with a 35-10 run to capture the thriller at the death 45-42.
The only points of the first period came when Ford converted Sale’s first penalty of the season on 20 minutes in front of the stick.
And the Sharks they thought they had the first try six minutes before the break from a pick-and-go package, but after endless TV replays no score was awarded.
Wade’s only significant touch in the first half came deep into his own territory, but it took just nine minutes of the second period for him to show what he could do when he had a look at the opposition line.
The Red Bulls moved the ball slightly to the right, where the winger sent Kingston Park into raptures for his sixth try of the campaign. Hodge stroked the difficult conversion.
Every time Wade, whose first top-flight try came back in 2011 for Wasps, saw the ball, the decibel level increased and as Sale’s defense stopped his shot just before the hour mark Hodge’s penalty in front of the posts put the Red Bulls 10-3 up.
Raw power rather than raw pace extended the home side’s lead in the 63rd minute when McGuigan finished off a push from the outside. Hodge’s superbly judged conversion saves his team vital breathing space.
Sale threw everything at their hosts as they chased their second away win of the season.
However, the club from Manchester was denied both by passionate resistance and by mistakes and penalty concessions.
Winger Tom Roebuck was inches away from what would have been a spectacular finish and scored six minutes from time.