Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks: Five takeaways as ‘moments of magic’ from England and Wallabies backs the difference in ‘bruising contest’
Adam Radwan scoring a try against Sale and Sharks duo, Tom and Ben Curry.
Following a 21-16 victory for Leicester Tigers over Sale Sharks, here are our five takeaways from the Premiership semi-final at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday.
The top line
Leicester Tigers will get the honour of appearing in the final at Twickenham next weekend after withstanding a Sale Sharks comeback to seal their passage into the Premiership showpiece.
It was a bruising contest full of physicality, but it was the Tigers who very much had the edge in the opening period. Their forwards were exceptional, getting them on the front foot with regularity, but the backs were also impressive.
Adam Radwan’s superbly taken brace enabled Leicester to go into the break 13-3 ahead – George Ford responding for the visitors – but the Greater Manchester outfit were a different side after the break.
They turned the tide and, although Handre Pollard kept the Sharks at arm’s length with a three-pointer, Rob du Preez’s try and two penalties from Ford levelled the match with 15 minutes remaining. It looked like Alex Sanderson’s men would reach the final, just as they did in 2023, but Izaia Perese’s brilliant individual score proved to be the difference.
Aerial battle
Sale, with the excellent Tom Roebuck, are renowned for their work in the air, and indeed the wing was a threat when the Sharks were kicking, but Leicester very much won the battle early on. Ollie Hassell-Collins in particular was outstanding, putting significant pressure on the opposition wing, while Joe Carpenter struggled in the first half.
Jack van Poortvliet was the architect of their aerial dominance, with the scrum-half getting both accuracy and distance with his box-kicks. It turned potentially awkward situations into attacking opportunities, taking the hosts up the field and putting the Sharks under regular duress.
Raffi Quirke, the half-back tasked with dictating matters from the start for the visitors, struggled, and it was no surprise to see him hooked early in the second period. Gus Warr came on and duly turned it around, with his accuracy enabling the visitors to find some much-needed territory and possession.
The Scotland international was just as effective as Van Poortvliet was in the first half and, as a result, they managed to get on top. When Sale levelled matters via a third Ford penalty with 15 minutes remaining, the momentum was with the Sharks, but somehow Michael Cheika’s men edged to the win.
Physical dominance
While the aerial game got the Tigers up the field, they also managed to achieve the very rare feat and do more than just control the physical confrontation up front against a powerful Sale side in the first half. Their pack was utterly immense, with Nicky Smith and Joe Heyes rumbling forward in the scrum, Cameron Henderson and Ollie Chessum spoiling lineout ball and the back-row rampaging around the field, impacting all facets in the loose.
Hanro Liebenberg and Olly Cracknell were huge in defence but also brutal in the carry as they sent the Curry twins – on a few occasions – into reverse. For the visitors, it was a matter of simply staying in the contest and, after withstanding another Tigers barrage at the end of the half, the Sharks regrouped and finally managed to get into the game.
With Warr on the field marshalling the pack and the scrum altering the momentum in the set-piece, it completely changed the contest. All of a sudden, the Currys were hunting in packs and Jean-Luc du Preez was getting his hands on the ball more often. They would continue to be on the front foot for most of the second half, but Perese’s magic, allied by some stubborn defence, meant Sale suffered yet more play-off heartbreak.
The stardust
Leicester very much know their identity. Scrum, lineout, maul and physicality have always been the Tigers’ way, but over the past 18 months they have added some real class in the outside channels.
Previously, Hassell-Collins was their lone threat out wide but the mid-season signing of Radwan has completely changed the dynamic of this side. The wing has been absolutely superb since joining from Newcastle Falcons and on Saturday he once again showed why he should be in England contention.
The first try he scored was impressive enough, stepping inside three Sale defenders to touch down, but his second was extra special. Pollard looked to have got the cross-field kick all wrong, but the wing displayed both blistering speed and a remarkable skill set to gather the ball and touch down.
Although the Sharks’ improvement in the second period prevented Radwan from have a similar influence after the break, the hosts were able to bring on the aforementioned Perese. The Wallabies centre’s first touch was to get the ball 40 metres out, beat the first-up defence and cross the whitewash. While their fundamentals set the platform, it was those moments of magic which won the game.
Bath awaits
Whoever went into the final at Twickenham were always going to be underdogs against the Premiership’s dominant side in 2024/25. Both have the tools to cause an upset but it is Leicester who ultimately get that chance to defeat the league leaders and win the title in London next weekend.
They will hope that Julian Montoya is fit for the showpiece event after looking in some discomfort when exiting the field as the Argentinian was superb, particularly in the set-piece. Bath may have an exceptional scrum and lineout but so do the Tigers and the battle at close quarters will be especially fierce.
Ultimately, it is two teams who play a similar style, based on a big pack and accurate half-backs who execute the kicking game extremely well. Bath seem to do everything slightly better than the Midlanders but it will be about which side handles the pressure and can implement that game plan the best in the final.
