Hodgson puts England nightmare behind him

Sale Sharks 19 Leeds Tykes 1

At the end of a week when kicking has been top of the agenda, and Charlie Hodgson has been blasted by all and sundry for missing his kicks against France on Sunday, the England outside-half was on prime kicking form against Leeds at Edgeley Park last night.

True Hodgson missed a very difficult penalty chance mid-way through the second half, but to err when he kicked everything in sight was no more than a minor misfortune.

It was seven minutes before Hodgson had his first sight at goal, from 20 metres out and dead in front of the posts. Surely he couldn't miss could he? No chance. Without a trace of nerves, Hodgson went through his usual pre-kick routine and popped over the simplest of chances. If only they could all be that easy. When Tim Stimpson was penalised for coming offside after a tackle, just three minutes later, Hodgson ripped a penalty through the posts, from way out on the right touchline. For a right-footed kicker, the most difficult position of all. Not a problem for Hodgson.

Leeds were on the back foot and Iain Balshaw and Chris Bell made a terrible hash of clearing their lines, and there were already some unwelcome signs for Leeds that their scrum was beginning to creak and the front row in some difficulty. But Tom Palmer stole a line-out on Sale's throw, though Colm Rigney spoiled the initiative with a dropped pass. Repeating the move, Balshaw was within a few feet of glory, but was hauled down by Jason Robinson. Their persistence brought a penalty chance for Gordon Ross, who took it with aplomb.

Back came Sale and though Robert Todd was guilty of what seemed to be a knock-on that the referee could not miss, the home forwards worked Hodgson into a similar position to that game-breaking miss at Twickenham. This time the dropped goal sailed over the crossbar. For most of the second quarter the game drifted into a slow, physical torpor. The only real sign of life from Leeds was a long shot at goal from Ross which drifted wide.

Sale had hardly been rattling up the points, but were accumulating them in a manner beyond Leeds, who were fortunate not to be further behind than 9-3 at the break. To emphasise their growing authority, Sale increased that to 16-3 when Andrew Sheridan stole away from a ruck for a fine individual try. Almost inevitably, Hodgson converted before rocketing a long penalty to make it 19-3.

That ought to have been the end for Leeds. But Sale's Sebastien Bruno was shown the yellow card and Leeds were quick to make the extra man count, Christophers cutting a cute angle to cross under the post, andRoss converted. With no more than nine minutes remaining, the best Leeds could hope for was a losing bonus point. If Balshaw had not miscued a scoring pass in stoppage time, they would have earned one.

Sale: Try Sheridan; Conversion Hodgson; Penalties Hodgson 3; Drop Goal Hodgson. Leeds: Try Christophers; Conversion Ross Penalty Ross.

Sale: J Robinson (capt); M Cueto, J Baxendell, R Todd (C Rhys-Jones, 28), S Hanley; C Hodgson, B Redpath (S Martens, 62); A Sheridan (B Stewart, 78), A Titterell (S Bruno, 50), B Stewart (S Turner, 66), C Jones (C Day, 74), D Schofield, J White (J Carter, h-t), M Lund (Titterrell, 76), S Chabal.

Leeds: I Balshaw; A Snyman, P Christophers, C Bell, T Stimpson (D Rees, 67); G Ross, A Dickens; G Kerr, R Rawlinson (M Regan, 51), R Gerber, S Morgan, T Palmer (capt), J Dunbar (A Popham, 51), R Parks, C Rigney (C Murphy, 51).

Referee: S Lander (Cheshire).