Wasps showcased their experience to record a hard fought bonus point win at the CorpAcq Stadium.
Wasps opened the scoring after seven minutes of play, as a great tap and go from Claudia MacDonald opened up the Sharks defence and saw the scrum-half run through unchallenged. Meg Jones added the extras to put the away side seven ahead. A deliberate knock on from Lisa Neumann saw the Welsh international exit the field for 10 minutes with a yellow card.
The absence of Neumann in the backline was evident in the following the moments, as Ellie Kildunne breezed down the left-hand side to get the second try of the afternoon for Wasps. Meg Jones missed the following kick.
A series of penalties won by Sale saw the home side make good ground, with Lauren Delany coming close to crossing the try-line only to be thwarted at the crucial moment. The Sharks enjoyed a strong period of possession during this period, but the defensive line of Wasps remained strong.
Wasps were penalised in the 25th minute and Katy Daley-McLean got the first points on the board for the home side after opting for the tee.
Amy Wilson Hardy added to Wasps’ lead just before half-time finishing off a well worked move by getting over in the corner. Meg Jones missed the conversion with the score 3-17 to Wasps at the break.
Wasps almost got their fourth try in the opening minute of the second half as they broke down the right-hand side, but Katy Daley-McLean came up with the try saving tackle. The bonus-point soon came for the away side however, as Elizabeth Crake powered over for the try and Meg Jones added the extras.
Meg Jones added to her tally with a couple of successful penalty kicks in the following ten minutes to further the gap between the sides.
Despite the score, Sale showed great energy and effort in the closing minutes and soon got a well-deserved try as a trademark cross field kick from Katy Daley-McLean found Lauren Delany for her second try of the season. Daley McLean missed the follow-up in the final minute.
A decisive and explosive first half performance from Wasps proved to be too much for the Sharks. Sale next take on Exeter on Saturday 19th December.
Sale Sharks XV
- Delany, 14. Wallace, 13. Calton, 12. Perrin, 11. Neumann, 10. Daley-McLean, 9. Grieve, 1. Abu-Marzouq, 2. Kelly, 3. Houghton, 4. Wyn Davies, 5. Howat, 6. G. Perris-Redding, 7. Field, 8. Stafford ( C )
Replacements:
- Hellin, 17. Fielding, 18. Leung, 19 V.E. Irwin, 20. Hibbert-Jones, 21. Roberts, 22. V.Irwin, 23. Wooden
Wasps Ladies XV
- Kildunne, 14. Mason, 13. Suzuki, 12. Rowland, 11. Wilson Hardy, 10. Jones, 9. MacDonald, 8. Millar Mills, 7. Molloy, 6. McMahon, 5. Cooney, 4. Monaghan, 3. Muir, 2. Ironton, 1. Crake
Replacements:
- Adefemiwa Afilaka, 17. Stock, 18. Moloney, 19. Burnnfield, 20. Michelson, 21. Nye, 22. Williams, 23. Heeley
