London Irish vs Sale Sharks match report: Danny Cipriani's interception plunges Exiles closer to the drop

London Irish 15 Sale Sharks 30

Danny Cipriani's interception try secured the win for Sale Sharks (Getty)

It is not just England, with their recent Grand Slam after a 13-year wait, who are hoping to recreate the spirit of 2003. That was the year London Irish won three of their last five league matches, and both of the final two, to stave off relegation, and they have had an unbroken stay in the top division of English rugby for 20 years. Saturday’s loss to Sale Sharks, which was sealed by Danny Cipriani’s interception try for Sale four minutes from the end, means the Exiles need another rapid upturn in results to avoid the drop this time.

Sale made light of their record of one win in eight Premiership away matches this season, scoring three tries to two plus 15 points kicked by Cipriani, whose only miss was a penalty not long before he picked off Johnny Williams’s pass for a 40-metre run-in. If Irish lose their next fixture, the humdinger at Newcastle, the club immediately above them in the Premiership, on Sunday 17 April, they would need to win their remaining matches against Harlequins and Wasps, and hope for the Falcons to falter. “People will think our environment is poisoned but it’s not, it’s pretty good,” said Tom Coventry, Irish’s head coach, who admitted he would rest players for next Friday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final at Harlequins. “The main focus for the club is to stay in the Premiership and we have got three games to do that in,” said Coventry.

His Sale counterpart Steve Diamond expressed sympathy for the Exiles’ plight. “I was in a relegation dogfight three years ago, I know what it’s like and London Irish are not out of it yet although Newcastle is a formidable place to go,” Diamond said.

Johnny Williams scores a try for London Irish (Getty)

Diamond’s team are in a fight for a top-six finish to qualify for the European Cup that he predicted would go to the last day, and he revealed he intended to field a second-string team for the rearranged midweek trip to Bath later this month, sandwiched as it is by a Challenge Cup quarter-final with Montpellier and the home Premiership match with Bath. There is another qualifying place available for the winners of the Challenge Cup, so England may end up with seven teams in next season's top European tournament.

Irish were 8-3 up after a well-worked try with 15 minutes gone. Ofisa Treviranus used his bulk brilliantly as he ran on to a clever inside ball from Greig Tonks, and the scrum-half Scott Steele tracked the play to send Sean Maitland over near the posts. Tonks’s simple conversion hit an upright, and there were two other penalty misses by the fly-half – one of medium range, the other further out – plus a try frittered away with a lack of sharp passing, before the first half was out.

Sean Maitland dives over the line to score London Irish's second try (Getty)

That all added up to a welter of regret for Irish as they fell 13-8 behind to Mike Haley’s try for Sale converted by Cipriani – who had earlier kicked two penalties to one by Tonks – three minutes before half-time. The Sharks pushed throughout for points from line-outs, rather than kicks at goal, and from one such set-piece, Haley smoothly foxed his opposite number Maitland with a show-and-go on the end of a long pass. Sale will be losing Cipriani to Wasps this summer but they have a burgeoning backline for their Wigan rugby league wing recruit Josh Charnley to slot into.

Cipriani’s penalty pushed Sale out to 16-8 before good hands by Irish's captain Luke Narraway helped Williams to a try converted by Tonks. But TJ Ioane’s try on 71 minutes kept Irish at bay, and if there were doubts over a forward pass here and there that might have been viewed differently, there was little debate the better side had won.

Danny Cipriani celebrates after securing Sale Sharks' victory over London Irish (Getty)

Team

London Irish: S Maitland; T Fowlie (T Brophy Clews 61), C Hearn, J Williams (F Mulchrone 79), A Fenby; G Tonks, S Steele (B McKibbin 55); T Court (T Smallbone 41), D Paice (T Cruse 61), H Aulika (L Halavatau 55), J Sinclair (J Sexton 64), M Symons, L Narraway (capt), B Cowan, O Treviranus (R McCusker 38).

Scorers: Tries: Maitland, Williams; Con: Tonks; Pens: Tonks.

Sale Sharks: M Haley; W Addison (T Brady 51-53), S James, S Tuitupou (Brady 66), N Edwards; D Cipriani (J Ford 78), P Stringer; E Lewis Roberts (R Harrison 55), T Taylor (N Briggs 66), B Mujati (V Cobilas 7-13, 51), B Evans, A Ostrikov (J Mills 66), C Neild, D Seymour (capt, (M Lund 78), M Easter (TJ Ioane 51).

Scorers: Tries: Haley, Ioane, Cipriani; Cons: Cipriani 3; Pens Cipriani 3.

Sin bin: Briggs

Referee: C Maxwell-Keys (RFU)

Attendance: 5,541