By Charlie Elliott
Leicester Tigers’ quality proved too much for Sale Sharks, despite plenty of fight from the home side at the Salford Community Stadium. A try within two minutes set the tone for a game that was controlled for large portions by Tigers, and despite forays forward from Sale, occasionally resulting in good moves, the scoreline reflected a dominant Tigers performance.
Sale Sharks – 17
TRIES: Holly Thorpe 7’ 79’ Catie Benson 59’
CONVERSIONS: Lizzie Duffy 80’
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: Nikita Prothero 23’
RED CARDS: 0
15.Nikita Prothero 14. Sophie Hopkins 13.Beatrice Rigoni 12. Laura Perrin 11. Holly Thorpe 10. Lizzie Duffy (cc) 9. Sofia Stefan 8. Jasmine Hazell 7. Alba Capell 6. Niamh Swailes 5. Erica Jarrell 4.Trudy Cowan 3. Detysha Harper (cc) 2. Scarlett Fielding 1. Catie Benson
Replacements:
16. Amber Schonert 17. Nick James 18. Sophie Lewis 19. Iona Antwis 20. Lucie Sams 21. Robyn Wilkins 22. Vicky A Irwin 23.Olivia Ortiz
Leicester Tigers – 34
TRIES: Charlotte Fray 2’ Leah Bartlett 10’ Meg Jones 17’ 62’ Julia Omokhule 25’ Amy Cokayne 37’
CONVERSIONS: Tess Feury 2’ 38’
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
15. Claire Gallagher 14. Emily Henrich13. Meg Jones 12. Evie Wills 11. Tess Feury 10. Natasha Jones 9. Amy Reif 8. Tahlia Brody 7. Roisin McBrien 6. Julia Omokhuale 5. Charlotte Fray 4. Eva Donaldson 3. Sophie Benavent 2. Amy Cokayne 1. Leah Bartlett
Replacements:
16. Alana Bainbridge 17. Abbey Constable 18. Nadine Vincent 19. Tiana Gordon 20. Morgan Richardson 21. Jenny Maxwell 22. Amanda Swartz 23. Nikki Simpson
Sale Sharks
15. Nikita Prothero – 6
Didn’t play badly but ended up with a yellow card that hugely impacted the game.
14. Sophie Hopkins – 7.5
A quality runner on the ball. Went past Tigers’ defence a few times and desreved a try for her efforts. Glided past the opposition.
13. Beatrice Rigoni – 6
Strong play but not much substance to it. Ran into trouble instead of the easier route a few times.
12. Laura Perrin – 6
Pretty average game for Laura. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination but did not stand out particuarly.
11. Holly Thorpe – 7
Got herself a brace of tries, played well on the wing. Could have been a bit more involved in general.
10. Lizzie Duffy (cc) – 7.5
Ran the show for Sale, both on and off the ball was their best player. Good kicker too.
9. Sofia Stefan – 6
Was a good kicker but wasn’t as effective on the ball as she would have liked.
8. Jasmine Hazell – 5.5
Had a brief cameo off the pitch before the half-time mark due to injury, but came back on and did ok. A few missed tackles summed up her performance.
7. Alba Capell – 6
Good off the ball but ineffective with it, the best in a poor back row for Sale.
6. Niamh Swailes – 5.5
No match for her opposite number through no fault of her own. Just wasn’t up to the quality today but a decent effort.
5. Erica Jarrell – 6.5
Kept going after briefly coming off for the first half, a couple of missed tackles but in general was solid. Sale did well from lineouts when she was involved.
4. Trudy Cowan – 6
The epitome of steady. Couple of nice tackles but not a game of note for her.
3. Detysha Harper (cc) – 6.5
Sale did well from the scrum but in genera Detysha had a minimal effect on the game, did her job pretty well but not remarkably.
2. Scarlett Fielding – 6
Good from the lineout but didn’t do too much otherwise. Somewhat anonymous.
1. Catie Benson – 7
Got a proper prop try after going over powerfully. Some big hits and in general did well at the scrum.
Replacements:
16. Amber Schonert N/A
Came on late on and didn’t do much.
17. Nick James – 6
A good turnover won from a lineout was her highlight, decent shift after coming on.
18. Sophie Lewis – 5.5
19. Iona Antwis – 5.5
Nothing much of note for Iona after coming on just before the half. A knockon was the only impact she had which isn’t a good sign.
20. Lucie Sams – 6
Grafted and her rhythm was interrupted by coming on and off a few times but did ok.
21. Robyn Wilkins – 6
Came on in the second half but didn’t have much of an impact.
22. Vicky A Irwin N/A
Came on late on with not enough time to make an impact.
23. Olivia Ortiz – 6
A lovely linebreak after coming on in the second half, a good shift but not much to her game.
Leicester Tigers Player Ratings
15. Claire Gallagher – 6
Had a solid game but wasn’t massively tested at the back. Was not a major attacking threat but did the job.
14. Emily Henrich – 6.5
A few good runs but would have liked to have got on the scoresheet after a dominant performance.
13. Meg Jones – 7.5
One of the best players on the pitch. Some great running and offloading and was a thorn in Sale’s side the whole game.
12. Evie Wills – 6
Not much impact which is disappointing in such a dominant performance.
11. Tess Feury – 6
Not perfect from the tee, but on the pitch had a good game.
10. Natasha Jones – 6.5
Played okay but could have made more of an impact.
9. Amy Reif – 7
Nice try assist. Some good combination play with others and played well.
8. Tahlia Brody – 6.5
A couple of nice breaks and some good tackles, didn’t have an amazing game but looked decent.
7. Roisin McBrien – 6
Very little impact on the game.
6. Julia Omokhuale – 8
The star of the show. An absolute beast on the ball with technical play to match. Sale could not handle her at all.
5. Charlotte Fray – 7.5
Formed part of a formidable partnership with Omokuale and was equally as good without the x-factor. A very good player.
4. Eva Donaldson – 6
Did well but wasn’t very busy.
3. Sophie Benavent – 6
Like Donaldson, played decently but wasn’t very busy. Did reasonably well at scrum time.
2. Amy Cokayne – 6.5
Her try papered over a few cracks, lost the ball a couple of times from good positions and wasn’t amazing from the lineout. Not bad apart from that though.
1. Leah Bartlett – 6
Got a good try after breaking through, quiet game otherwise.
Replacements:
16. Alana Bainbridge N/A
Came on late on and couldn’t have much of an impact.
17. Abbey Constable – 6
Came on midway through the sceond half and had little impact, saw the game out well.
18. Nadine Vincent – 5
19. Tiana Gordon – 5
20. Morgan Richardson- N/A
Only featured briefly and didn’t make much of a difference.
21. Jenny Maxwell 6
See Abbey Constable.
22. Amanda Swartz – N/A
Came on late and couldn’t make an impact.
23. Nikki Simpson N/A
Came on late and couldn’t make an impact.
