Du Preez in charge as Sharks dominate

ROB du Preez put in a playmaking masterclass England may worry to while for the Autumn internationals due to George Ford's injury absence, Sale Sharks have no such concerns.

- LUKE JARMYN

The 31-year-old one-cap Springbok once more belied his international appearances figure with a man of the match display, pulling the strings from a dominant pack to ignite a blistering backline - allowing Aaron Reed and Tom Roebuck to both cross the try line twice.

Outside-centre Will Addison also scored as Sale secured the try bonus point before halftime, inflicting Newcas tle Falcons to what felt like an inevitable record 25th Premiership defeat in a row March 2023 going back to while being on a -100 points difference after just four games.

Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said: "I'm happy with that performance. We had a bit of disruption with Luke Cowan-Dickie being in the sin-bin and Ben Curry throwing lineouts, which is why we went for the sticks and not to the corner in the second-half.