Carpenter claims a try hat-trick as Sale triumph

By ALEX THROWER

Sale FC…………………36

Darlington MP…….. 14

A HAT-TRICK of tries from full-back Joe Carpenter helped Sale to victory at Mowden Park and extend their remarkable winning run.

Despite conceding two cheap tries midway through the second half, the hosts produced a largely dominant performance to secure a bonus-point and their eighth consecutive win.

Just six minutes had gone when Tom Walsh, drifting inside from the left-wing, received the ball on the halfway line and set off on a dazzling run wide on the right. A simple offload to Tom Brady helped the former Leicester Tigers winger score his third try of the season.

It took a further 17 minutes for The Dogs to extend their lead as Fergus Mulchrone was able to score thanks to a gap in Park’s defense, before Stone Priestly-Nangle ran over following a soft turnover.

After the break, it was relentless pressure from Sale which took the game away from a largely hapless Darlington. Carpenter ran in his first by bursting through the visitor’s 22 after a smart basketball free-throw like pass from scrum-half Matt Bradley.

With the bonus point secured, Sale set about running away with the contest and some brilliant, free-flowing rugby saw Carpenter find space to run into the corner. The only blemish may have been leading points scorer James Robins failing to convert either try.

While their electric start to the second period was richly rewarded, Sale will be concerned at how they switched off for a ten-minute period to allow Darlington to twice waltz through, first through hooker George Shannon before substitute Euan McKirdy ran over. Despite both being converted by Oscar Yandall, Darlington were unable to reach a losing bonus point as they suffered their fourth defeat in five games.