Rugby Union: Stransky inspires the irresistible

Leicester 55

Sale 15

Rugby Union, as it is being played at present, can no longer be described as the great leveller. The superiority on the field will almost inevitably be translated in its full glory or, in the case of the vanquished, in its full horror on the scoreboard. And so it was at Welford Road yesterday. These are two highly respected sides in the Premiership of English rugby but this was not so much of a match as a massacre, the margin of Leicester's victory in no way flattering them.

They were simply irresistible, scoring seven tries, including a penalty try, and submerging Sale with a compelling display of total rugby. Sale are either inspirational or diabolical and yesterday there was no doubt into which category they plummeted. Leicester, of course, had no way of knowing this at the start of the match and in order to quell any possible Northern uprising they tore into the early exchanges with such relish that it was a quarter of an hour before Sale could manage to break free of their own 22.

In this period Joel Stransky, who finished with 20 points from four penalties and four conversions and gave a classic display of the fly-half's art, ventured very little, keeping the ball close to his forwards and allowing his alert and supportive back row to do the damage. They succeeded with rare efficiency, and when the game was still a contest and not an exhibition both flankers, Paul Gustard and Lewis Moody, scored fine tries.

Pounding along in their wake was Martin Johnson, playing like a man refreshed and relieved of a great burden. Perhaps it was the presence of the South African Fritz Van Heerden alongside him in the second row, deflecting some of the attention from him. Whatever the reason, it was good to see Johnson back to his best and his partnership with Van Heerden in Leicester's scrum seems likely to be a prosperous one.

The pick of Leicester's tries was the one scored by the fullback Michael Horak after a glorious break from his own half by Stransky. Will Greenwood, as he is so often, was at his fly-half's elbow to take the pass and carry on the move and Horak was there to finish it off.

It was the inevitable consequence of Leicester's solid groundwork in the opening quarter when Sale were on the run in the scrummage and on the rack in the line-out. They were unable to find the sanctuary of the touchlines and even on their own throw-in were by no means sure of winning possession against the battery of Leicester's jumpers. In addition to Johnson and Van Heerden, there was Eric Miller at the tail and, apart from a five-minute spell when Shane Howarth kicked a penalty and Sale succeeded in making a few dents in the opposition defence, they were condemned to a life of eternal defence.

Stransky kicked three penalties in the first half, the two tries coming from forwards. Johnson scored the first from short range and Gustard the second after deft footwork by Austin Healey on the right touchline.

Any hopes Sale harboured of a recovery were dashed when Moody, whose support of Stuart Potter's break was nothing short of miraculous, scored Leicester's third try within four minutes of the restart. From that point, Leicester enjoyed themselves as Sale sank further into the depths of inadequacy. Gaps were opening up all over the field and Sale's last resort was to break the law. Finally, Tony Spreadbury, the referee, ran out of patience and awarded a penalty try against Sale's persistently infringing defence.

By now Sale were powerless to stem the flow. Dorian West, a marvellously mobile hooker, sprinted over for Leicester's fifth try and Horak completed Sale's humiliation with two more.

Sale's two tries in the dying minutes by Shane Howarth and Simon Raiwalui, whose relish for the open spaces was unfortunately not matched by his enthusiasm for the nitty gritty of the tight forward exchanges, were merely drops in the ocean which for the previous 80 minutes had engulfed them.

Leicester: M Horak; A Healey, W Greenwood, S Potter, L Lloyd; J Stransky, J Hamilton; G Rowntree, D West, D Garforth (P Freshwater, 61), M Johnson (capt), F Van Heerden, P Gustard (W Johnson, 70), E Miller, L Moody.

Sale: J Mallinder; D Rees, S Howarth, A Hadley (C Yates, 55), T Beim; S Mannix (D Kenny, 69), K Ellis; D Winstanley, S Diamond, D Williamson (D Bell, 61), S Raiwalui, D Baldwin, D Erskine, D O'Cuinneagain (C Vyvyan, 44), P Sanderson (D O'Grady, 55).

Referee: T Spreadbury (Somerset).