Sale Sharks 17 Cardiff Blues 18

Blair hooked one wide for the Blues a few minutes later but they looked to spread it from their own twenty two and attack from deep.

Cardiff Blues got the first try of the afternoon through a superb break by scrum-half Richie Rees. He broke from his own half and cut through the defence before drawing Macleod and releasing Halfpenny, who had picked a good angle to touch down under the posts. Blair converted.

Keil soon got one back, however, with the Sale backs inter-passing superbly and drawing in the defenders. Keil latched on to a Wigglesworth pass to touch down in the corner. Macleod struck the conversion just wide and was again just wide with a penalty effort minutes later.

Halfpenny was having another great match judging the high-ball kicks well and returning the ball into the Sale half with interest. It was nip and tuck all the way when
the Blues were awarded another penalty for a high tackle, and despite the wind, this time Blair slotted the kick. However, Macleod soon restored the Sharks’ lead with a long-range effort.

Half-time Sale Sharks 11 Cardiff Blues 10

Macleod started the second half as he finished the first with a long-range penalty effort to extend the lead to 14-10.

The Sharks seemed to be dominating the early stages of the second half, attacking whenever possible and always looking to run. Macleod added another penalty but this finally seemed to spark the Blues, who looked to attack. They were encamped on the Sale tryline before Tim Hayes blew for offside and Sweeney kicked the goal.

The Blues seemed to be revitalised and Sweeney broke well, following a charging run by Andy Powell. Gary Powell emerged in the Sale twenty-two but didn’t have the gas to reach the tryline and Richie Rees knocked the ball on as he looked to offload.

Both sides made a number of substitutions and the game lost its pattern somewhat.
With only four points in it, the Blues knew they needed to move things up a gear to get the score. Richie Rees again looked threatening with darting runs, and the Blues had a chance to score if they would have spread the ball wide rather than chip it across field where it went straight out.

However, the Blues were given a second chance when Sale failed to clear well. They spread the ball all the way across the backline and Richard Mustoe appeared on the left wing to bulldoze his way over in the corner. The Blues managed to cling on to the narrow lead to record their first win against English opposition this season.

Saturday 04 October Edgeley Park

15 Ben Blair 14 Leigh Halfpenny (50ff) 13 Jamie Robinson (71off) 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Gareth Thomas 10 Ceri Sweeney (65off) \9 Richie Rees 8 Mark Lewis 7 Martyn Williams 6 Andy Powell (65off) 5 Paul Tito (c) 4 Bradley Davies (53off) 3 Taufa’ao Filise (54off) 2 T. Rhys Thomas (84off0 1 John Yap 16 Gary Powell (54on)17 Gareth Williams (84on) 18 Deiniol Jones (53on) 19 Robin Sowden Taylor (65on) 20 Richard Mustoe (50on)21 Nick Robinson (65on) 22 Tom Shanklin (71on)

Cardiff Blues
Tries Halfpenny x1 Mustoe x 1
Pens Blair x 1 Sweeney x 1
Con Blair x 1
DG

Sale Sharks
Tries Keil x 1
Pens Macleod x 4
Con
DG

Yellow Card – Marc Jones (36)