Sale accelerate drive to secure European place

London Irish 32 Sale 36

Sale are within touching distance of qualifying for next season's Heineken European Cup, and the issue could be resolved on Wednesday night when they take on the Premiership strugglers Leeds at Heywood Road.

If they fail then, and again at home to Harlequins next Sunday, they always have the Parker Pen Shield as a last resort. They meet Pontypridd on 26 May at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, and the winners are guaranteed a place in Europe's senior competition.

London Irish kept alive their hopes of a top-three Premiership finish with a very late try, in the eighth minute of added time. It was just enough for Irish who needed the bonus point for that fourth try, a score which guaranteed they would finish within seven points of their opponents and thus pick up a second bonus point. But it has to be said that for much of the game the gap between the two sides looked closer to a gulf and certainly a lot wider than the margin of victory suggests.

Sale defended brilliantly: bodies, heads, limbs and reputations were put on the line. Irish are no slackers themselves when it comes to defence, but the Sale half-backs, Bryan Redpath and Charlie Hodgson, had the speed of thought to outmanoeuvre the Exiles in a cracking match.

Where Irish would build patiently through a number of phases before going for the line, Sale would strike in an instant, and the Irish ended up being fazed. They conceded a soft score to Pete Anglesea and had to work hard for their own.

Eddie Halvey's 88th-minute try – when he peeled off a scrum and squeezed over – was important but it could hardly be categorised as breathtaking or memorable, unlike a solo effort from the Sale lock or the outstanding try which preceded it.

The Sale and Scotland captain Redpath, looking imperious throughout, began the move on the left wing and by the time the ball was thumped into the turf over on the right it had been moved through 10 pairs of safe Sale hands. The centre Martin Shaw had the honour of rounding off this side-to-side play and brought the 6,000 crowd to their feet – twice as many as would have been attracted to Heywood Road.

Indeed so poor is the Sale support – their average of around 3,000 for all games is the worst in the division – that Brian Kennedy, their chairman, has called the fan base "pathetic" and "miserable" and is hinting that he may pull the plug on the whole enterprise, which, given the way they are charging towards their best finish in the top flight, is ironic in the extreme.

With the likes of Jason Robinson in the line-up – he scored his ninth Premiership try to open Sale's account in the sixth minute after winning a thrilling chase for Hodgson's thoughtful kick over the defence from halfway – it is sad that the club does not attract a larger following. Perhaps Wednesday will see a change of heart.

London Irish: Tries Horak, Bishop, Delaney, Halvey; Conversions Everitt 3; Penalties Everitt 2. Sale: Tries Robinson, Anglesea, Shaw, Jones, Hodgson; Conversions Hodgson 4; Penalty Hodgson.

London Irish: M Horak; P Sackey, G Appleford, B Venter, J Bishop; B Everitt, D Edwards; N Hatley (D Wheatley, 55), N Drotske (R Kirke, 48), R Hardwick (S Halford, 48), R Strudwick (capt), J Fahrensohn (G Delaney, 60), P Gustard, C Sheasby, D Danaher (E Halvey, h-t).

Sale: J Robinson; M Cueto, M Shaw, D Harris (M Deane, 38; J Baxendell, 78), S Hanley; C Hodgson, B Redpath (capt); K Yates, C Marais (A Titterell, 68), S Turner, I Fullarton, C Jones (M Giacheri, 74), A Sanderson, P Anglesea (R Wilks, 68), S Pinkerton.

Referee: A Spreadbury (Keynsham).