Sale Sharks thrashed Exeter Chiefs 41-5 in the Premiership in Salford on Sunday, with England prospect Tom Roebuck scoring a hat-trick.
The 23-year-old has been in great form for the club, bouncing back well from the recent defeat to Bath and scoring six tries to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Luke Cowan-Dickie scored against his old club, Gus Waugh and Raffi Quirke were Sale Sharks' try scorers and George Ford scored no less than 11 points off the tee.
Exeter's goal came from a try from England winger Immanuel Fay-Waboso.
Click here for scorers
Ford had the first chance to score, but a 40-metre penalty in difficult winds went wide.
Sale soon suffered a further blow when flanker Ernst van Ryn was forced off with a leg injury and was replaced by Sam Dugdale.
However, Dugdale immediately attacked from the lineout, putting the Chiefs defense on the back foot and, as the ball was recycled, a well-timed pass from Ford gave Roebuck the lead.
Ford converted and Sale, who had the advantage in the first quarter, deservedly led 7-0 at the end of the quarter.
Exeter's flanker Richard Capstick was offside at a ruck and Ford's lead was extended when the resulting penalty was deflected away.
Despite playing in favorable wind conditions, Chiefs struggled to gain a foothold in the match as Sale fly-half Ford took charge of Marshall to reward the dominance of the forwards.
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It was therefore no surprise that Sale scored their second try when former Exeter favorite Cowan Dickie completed a lineout drive.
The visitors' woes continued when full-back Josh Hodge was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, and the home side seized the opportunity with a third try.
A motivated Manu Tuilagi made the first break, followed by Roebuck and Bevan Rodd, before Waugh threaded his way through.
Ford missed the conversion, but they still led 22-0 at halftime after a half in which their opponents didn't make a single shot.
Fifty seconds after the restart Roebuck collected Warbuck for his second of the afternoon and Sale scored a bonus point try.
Hodge returned from the sin bin in time to see his team get on the scoreboard thanks to a great individual try from Fay-Waboso, who had too much speed and power for Sale's cover players.
However, normal service was resumed when Quirke, who had replaced Sale, darted in from a penalty taken immediately to score.
Roebuck was supposed to score a hat trick but somehow lost the ball over the line, but it mattered little because he was immediately given the opportunity to accomplish the feat and this time he made no mistake. Ta.
That's a hat trick 🎩
Tom Roebuck is wreaking havoc on the world @sarksrugby!
watch live @rugbyontnt and @IVRugby 📺#gallagherprem | #SALvEXE pic.twitter.com/t5r1EwE2tj
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) March 31, 2024
Tuirangi and Sharks captain Ben Curry were substituted with 15 minutes remaining, but there was no extra point as Sale celebrated an impressive return to victory.
team
Sale: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Tom O'Flaherty, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Waugh, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Ben Currie (c), 6 Ernst van Ryn, 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Kobus Wiese, 3 James Harper, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacement: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjule, 19 Ben Bamber, 20 Hyron Andrews, 21 Sam Dugdale, 22 Raffi Quirke, 23 Sam James
Exeter: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Faye-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Will Rigg, 11 Ollie Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Will Betconsole, 8 Greg Ficilau, 7 Richard Capstick, 6 Ross Vincent, 5 Christ Sciunza, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Jack Yandle, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacement: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Lewis Pearson, 20 Jack Dunn, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zach Wimbush.
Referee: Hammish Smail
Assistant referee: Christoph Ridley, Jonathan Healy
TMO: dean richards
read more: Harlequins secured a thrilling 76-point victory with a superb try from Marcus Smith as Bristol Bears continued their onslaught.
