Diamond: Only a fool wouldn’t pick Denny for England
DENNY Solomona provided impressive proof to Eddie Jones he is ready to play a part for England in Paris if required.
The wing landed a stunning first-half hat-trick for Sharks and his director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “Denny has been fantastic for us. His finishing is firstclass and we saw just how clinical he is today. “All he does is score tries and he does it every week. He's getting better and better.
“The England coach has got to watch these games. If he keeps doing what he does only a fool wouldn't pick him.”
The ex-Rugby League man, who has ten tries this season, would certainly be a useful weapon to have on the bench at the Stade de France.
An incredible first 40 minutes witnessed a concerted Shark attack which left Saints staggering. Diamond insisted: “We charged out the blocks and the guys were outstanding in the first-half. It keeps us in with a chance of the top four.”
Scrum-half Faf de Klerk was outstanding, carving out chances which Solomona and Marland Yarde gobbled up.
Solomona's finish for the opening score was sublime as he twisted his way over under tackles and placed the ball down one-handed. His second, as the Saints defence crumbled, came after De Klerk had increased the lead with his first penalty. Yarde turned creator with a superb high catch and off-load. Two passes later, Solomona raced under the posts for De Klerk to convert with ease.
Sale fans were cheering again in the final five minutes of the half as Solomona crept up on the right wing again to stroll over unchallenged and complete his hat-trick. De Klerk converted from the touchline – his kicking from turf just as outstanding as it was from hand. And it was a perfectlydirected kick down field which put Yarde in for another exceptional try.
De Klerk's punt through bounced nicely for Yarde to kick towards the try line. And it popped up for him to grab and dive over. Saints dominated the second half and struck when lock Michael Paterson, who had replaced captain Christian Day, ploughed over.
Sharks were reduced to 14 men at the same time with flanker Jono Ross sinbinned and Piers Francis converted the try to lift home fan spirits.
Saints had their tails up, and heavy pressure on the Sharks line saw centre Rob Horne break through.
Sale went down to 13 men when full-back Mike Haley was sin-binned for a deliberate trip on Cobus Reinach as the Saints man kicked through.
De Klerk calmed Sharks nerves with a penalty before they were back to full-strength. South African flanker Heinrich Brussow, who had been replaced, returned to the fray due to injury to Reece Marshall and bull-dozed his way over for a converted try.
But Sharks held on for a fine win which boosts their outside hopes of a top four finish.
CLOSE-UP
YOUNG England prospect Ben Curry outshone his more experienced South African rival in a first half Sharks dominated with his impressive ball carrying and support play. Sadly, he left the field early in the second half and Saints sparked a fight back. Brussow was replaced and then thrown back into the heat of battle due to injuries, and the Springbok surged over for a try.
