Northampton Saints	25-23	Newcastle Falcons
Saracens	19-21	London Wasps
London Irish	20-19	NEC Harlequins
Worcester Warriors	11-41	Bristol Rugby
Gloucester	24-19	Bath Rugby
Leicester Tigers	35-23	Sale Sharks

 

Crónica  Sale Sharks vs Leicester Tigers
	Sale Sharks	23
	Leicester Tigers	35
Sunday, September 3rd 2006 Attendance: 16,815
Sale Sharks found Leicester Tigers too hot to handle in this Welford Road opener, and suffered their first opening day defeat during the 'Brian Kennedy era'. Yet, for all the territorial dominance and forceful forward play by the Tigers, it was the Sharks, marshalled by Charlie Hodgson, who went up the tunnel 16-12 ahead at half time. Both sides fielded some heavy artillery, with Sale Sharks having five forwards on the bench. Chris Bell made his competitive debut for the club and was later joined by replacements Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Ben Evans and Lee Thomas. Charlie Hodgson, with a very strong wind behind him, landed a 42 metre penalty on 7 minutes and, a minute later, illustrated how strong the elements were when a defensive clearance kick went the length of the field over the 'in goal' area! The home side, in rampant mood, exerted constant pressure on their visitors during the first twenty minutes. Geordan Murphy carved through in the centre for a try, converted by Goode, and the Sharks, under siege on their own line, went further behind seven minutes later through Louis Deacon, out wide on the overlap on the right. When the Sharks did break out, they gained limited quality possession from their own lineouts. Nonetheless, thirteen points from Charlie Hodgson within a nine minute spell saw the Sharks 16-12 ahead on the half hour, thanks to two penalties either side of a fine individual try, which he converted. The England flyhalf produced a diagonal run for his try after fine handling by Mayor, Ripol and Wigglesworth. The Tigers swept back to put the Sharks' line under yet more pressure. Skipper Jason Robinson produced a great defensive effort to thwart Geordan Murphy by holding up his attempted try against the post protectors. Magnus Lund scavenged on the ground to gain possession when another Tigers try seemed likely. Just before the break, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe replaced his brother Ignacio, who was holding his shoulder. Sebastien Chabal was unwell at half time, and was replaced by Christian Day. Leicester regained the lead with the second half only two minutes old, when the Champions' defence was unable to prevent a traditional rumbling drive, Martin Corry getting the final touch, Goode converting. The Sharks, ever willing to throw the ball along the line with spirit, went ahead again three minutes later. Hodgson beat three men, Mayor produced an enterprising mazy run and an extravagant looped pass which allowed Sebastien Bruno to sidestep three opponents, and roll over for a try in superb style. The strong East Midlands wind blew the ball over and, despite George Chuter's unauthorised intervention, Hodgson was allowed by the referee to re-position the ball for a successful conversion. Home captain Martin Corry, who had an excellent game, led the charge in reply, and the Sharks' backs continued to try to play in enterprising fashion. The team were pegged back by thee Goode penalties - shades of last season - but the home lead on the hour mark was only five points. Amongst numerous changes by both sides, the Tigers continued to press and a yellow card for Chris Jones for an off-the-ball shoulder charge on Corry on 66 minutes was the start of a decisive period of action near the visiting line. Robinson and Foden combined to prevent a Buckland try, but scrum time, eight against seven, and featuring a prominent battle between Julian White and Andrew Sheridan eventually saw the award of a penalty try to Leicester on 75 minutes. Goode, who had missed two kickable penalty attempts, made no mistake from under the posts. In their search for the try which would have given them a 'losing bonus' point, Robinson, Cueto, Mayor and Hodgson produced moments of skill, but the game ended inconclusively with the Sharks over the line but the ball not in evidence. The elusive Oriol Ripol had a forceful game on the wing, Magnus Lund showed classy wing-forward moments, but it was the calm Charlie Hodgson whose measured kicking and well-timed passing provided the major threat. Scoring (Tigers first): 0-3, 7-3, 12-3, 12-6, 12-13, 12-16 (Half time); 19-16, 19-23, 22-23, 25-23, 28-23, 35-23. Man of the Match: Charlie Hodgson Scorers Sharks Leicester Tigers Tries Charlie Hodgson Sebastien Bruno Geordan Murphy Louis Deacon Martin Corry Penalty try Conversions Charlie Hodgson (2) Andy Goode (3) Penalties Charlie Hodgson (3) Andy Goode (3)