Goode night Vienna

Welford Road on a wet Friday night against a team packed to the brim with international players - you wouldn't really fancy it, would you? Even I wasn't optimistic enough to take a punt on it.

Alright, we were spared the bullocking charges of the rogue elephant-like, Alessano Tuilagi, thank goodness, and there was no Lewis Moody to give us the occasional penalty, but their bench was enough to send the shivers through you - Chuter, Moreno, Hamilton, Croft, Vesty and Erinle. All top players, yet not deemed good enough to start.

The strength in depth is frightening.

All the headlines of course will probably revolve around Luke McAlister and his involvement in three of the tries.

No doubt the critics are already lined up to take a pop and snipe and you can almost guess the by-lines. Well, all I would say is back off and leave the lad alone.

This is only his second game, he's barely had time to unpack his suitcase. The result had nothing to do with Big Mac, Sale were beaten by a superior side - no excuses, no scapegoats.

Leicester Tigers played the conditions perfectly and fully deserved their victory. One-nil to Marcelo Loffreda - end of story, or is it?

The conditions were perfect when we arrived. It was fairly mild with a bit of a breeze and the pitch looked peachy, perfect conditions you would say for a game of open, running rugby.

That's the game Sale wanted to play and the one they're best at. Charlie would run the line and get the ball out to McAlister who'd chop and change from first to second receiver and then we'd unleash the backs - Cueto, Laharrague and Lamont would run the Tigers ragged.

It's a great plan in theory - ball in hand to tame the tiger.

The problem was, the weather wasn't playing ball. With 10 minutes to go before kick off the rain descended, and boy did it rain.

Then came the wind which was gustier than anything Kingston Park throws at you. By the time the whistle blew Welford Road looked more like the Somme.

Time to don the sou'westers and ponder the perennial question - if it had been dry, would things have been different? Answers on a postcard please.

Chris Day took the high ball from the kick off and gave the ball to Charlie. His kick up field was carried by the wind and caught by Geordan Murphy (henceforth known as G for reasons that will become clear).

Goode took the ball and launched a massive high bomb which hung in the breeze then drifted back towards his advancing forwards. These are the sorts of conditions every full back hates - you have the Garryowen covered and then the wind drags it fifteen feet away from you.

You could tell from the look on Cueto's face that this was going to be a long night.

What you need to do in those circumstances is keep hold of the ball and try to get through the first 15 minutes without conceding.

Unfortunately we did what we've done all season and banged the ball straight back without finding touch.

Granted, Charlie was given little time with ball in hand as Leicester's back row threesome of Corry, Abraham and Crane were in his face straight away. I never realised Corry could move that quickly, though he does tend to save his best games for us.

Crane is just a class act and always produces the goods. Luke Abraham, a Chabalesque mini-me, though not quite so mini, set his own stall out for the night with probably the stand-out performance, turning over ball on the floor and rucking ferociously. Do the Tigers have a talent conveyor belt?

Rudy Keil finally got enough purchase on the ball to find touch after a period of extended Leicester pressure and brought a temporary end to the aerial ping-pong. The Tigers secured their ball at the five-metre line out and rumbled in-field.

Goode stepped away from the maul to get his runners moving, but a sniping tackle from Martens ended the threat. That was until the ball broke loose from the resulting ruck after quick work by Abraham brought the turnover.

Frank Murphy (F) fed the ball to fly half Goode, he took the ball on and offloaded to G who drew the covering run of Lamont before shipping the ball to Johne Murphy (J) who skipped in the corner.

A simple try that was executed perfectly, leaving poor Rory isolated and facing a two-on-one. Goode converted as he invariably does.

Four minutes gone and 7-0 down. What was I saying about keeping the sheet clean for 15?

The early score put Sale on the back foot. Try as they might, Leicester were not prepared to give them an inch.

When the ball wasn't being belted from one end to the other, the Sharks' seemingly preferred option was the chip and chase. In theory that was probably the best call given the weather, but it seemed that Sale were heavy on the chipping and a little lighter on the chasing.

Leicester took every opportunity to run the ball back and increase the pressure on the Sharks beleaguered defence.

The only chink of light came on 12 minutes when Sale managed to reduce the deficit with a McAlister penalty. Kay was penalised by Chris White for hands in at a ruck just inside the Leicester half.

The Crumbie Stand voiced its displeasure, but it seemed like a fair enough call. Big Mac carried over his fine kicking form from last week and struck the ball sweetly through the posts from the best part of 35 metres.

Sale's gameplan needed more variety; I don't think Sale ever got into Leicester's 22 in the opening quarter.

The up and under approach play favoured by Cueto and Laharrague just wasn't working. Even when the kicks were followed up, tackles were not nailed and both winger and full back found themselves hopelessly out of position.

The scrum and lineout functioned reasonably well but at the breakdown Sale came out second best. Abraham was outstanding on the floor and seemed to be able to turn ball over at will.

The Sharks continue to make the same mistakes and never seem to commit enough men to the breakdown - without the numbers, you'll always risk losing possession.

The game was crying out for someone to take the initiative and mix things up. You'd normally expect either Charlie or McAlister to do this, but neither really had a hope as Corry and Crane refused to give them any time on the ball.

Sale definitely missed Ben Foden at full back. When he plays he brings that spark and cutting edge. He backs himself against the first man and isn't afraid to run the ball back at the opposition.

Without that option all Sale could rely on was the Garryowen and long tactical kicking from Hodgson.

What seems perplexing, particularly this season, is why Sale rarely go for touch with a kick. Is it a conscious tactic, a ploy to keep the ball alive and hopefully make territorial gains?

If it is, it tends to backfire and just invites the opposition on. With the likes of Leicester, that's the last thing you want to do.

For all the territorial advantage though, the Tigers found it difficult to get the final killer pass away. Brave last-ditch Sale defending made sure of that.

Goode almost turned the game with a lovely long switched pass from right to left that found Kay about 10 metres short of the Sale line. He cut back inside and offloaded to Hipkiss who in turn found J who was bundled over the line.

Chris White decided the ball had been held up by Nacho Lobbe, but called the play back for a deliberate Sale knock on earlier in move. Goode kicked the easy penalty and the sides went in with Leicester leading 10-3. On the balance of play and possession it should probably have been a greater margin.

Thankfully the rain stopped in time for the second half and the game got underway with Sale opting to play in dirty grey.

Vesty came on as a replacement for G, and immediately took the attack to Sale, running the ball from deep directly into the heart of the defence. Smith and Hipkiss probed and powered through the midfield looking for gaps, while Leicester's infamous rolling maul clicked into gear, making huge territorial gains and grinding down the tiring legs of the Sale forwards.

The Sharks' scrambled backline managed to avert the threat but the pressure was beginning to mount. It looked highly likely that the Tigers would strike.

Goode strangely attempted the drop goal from about 30 metres out when he had men outside him. It sailed wide of the mark but you sensed there was more to come.

It wasn't long before that man Vesty struck again, running the ball from his own 22 after taking the inside feed from Corry. A neat little interchange of play saw Goode feed a deft inside pass to Hipkiss who took the crash ball and powered under the Sale posts.

It was just rewards and had been coming for some time. Goode converted taking the score to 17-3.

Sale Sharks are not a team who'll roll over and give up, even though it was looking like an uphill struggle. The next score was always going to be crucial.

For the first time in the match Sale managed to get up a head of steam and set up camp in the Tigers 22.

A combination of forward power and some nifty handling from Sale backs at last created a period of sustained pressure.

A cleverly worked move began by Big Mac saw the ball pass to Martens. His pass went slightly behind Charlie but somehow he managed to control it and keep the momentum going. The ball was nipped to Lamont, then on to Laharrague and finally fed to McAlister who saw the gap and dabbed the ball down in the corner.

Charlie couldn't convert from the oblique angle, though many were actually surprised that he opted to take it anyway - McAlister's kicking had looked solid up until then.

Both sides decided to ring the changes after that. Schofield, Wigglesworth and James Jones replaced Lobbe, Bonner Evans and Martens, Chuter came on for Kayser and Croft replaced the irrepressible Crane.

It made the radio commentator deliriously happy when clean white-shirted players arrived, replacing the uniform dirty grey of the rest of the team. He could actually refer to them by number and name when play resumed, rather than just saying white passes to white, but oh, that's knocked on by another man in white'.

Normal service resumed and Leicester began to dominate through a combination of clever tactical kicking and raw forward power.

It looked like the end of the road for the Sharks when Wiggy missed the tackle on Varndell, allowing him to ground the ball in the corner.

Chuter, Hamilton, Smith and Hipkiss had all been involved in the move, but the final pass from Vesty was adjudged to have been forward. Much to the relief of the Sharks, play was called back for a Sale scrum 15 metres out.

Sale's scrum was struggling though under the pressure exerted by the Tigers and had already lost a couple against the head. Bruno replaced Lawson and gave that extra bit of grunt up front that was badly needed.

Maggie also packed down at eight rather than on the blindside. The changes seemed to make a difference and the scrum thereafter looked more solid.

Goode extended Leicester's lead with a penalty after Lund was penalised by Chris White for a hand in at the ruck. The kick hit the upright but had sufficient momentum to still drop over.

You sensed it was going to be Leicester's day. Still, 20-8 and there was still a hope. Sale had been in situations like this before and come out of it OK.

Mayor came on for Charlie with the orders, go for it - attack' and McAlister switched to stand off.

No doubt some will be critical of what happened next, but this was effectively a cup tie. If you're behind you have to go for it and chase the game.

It happened last year in Paris when Dominici intercepted Wiggy's attempted pass and killed off the game and it will no doubt happen again. With Sale camped in the Leicester 22, and the forwards setting up the perfect platform for an attack, McAlister tried a cheeky little chip over the top of the Leicester defence that Lamont, Cueto and Laharrague could all have feasibly dropped on.

Big Mac was possibly a little too flat to attempt it, as the charging Goode was able to steal the ball and race away, popping the ball to Varndell who this time made no mistakes.

Had it come off, the scores would've been 20-15 and the game would definitely have been on, as it was, it didn't and it was goodnight Vienna. Goode converted and that simply sealed matters.

A couple of minutes later McAlister was to be the villain of the piece again as he took a quick throw in preference to a line out and his flat pass to Cueto was intercepted by Croft who crossed in the corner.

Goode couldn't convert from the touchline, but it didn't really matter. The game finished Leicester 32 Sale 8.

Looking at that scoreline, you would assume that Sale were comprehensively outplayed.

No doubt they were second best on the night and Leicester were without question the worthy winners, but Sale didn't play badly.

Had Sale not had to chase the game in the last five minutes, the margin of defeat would no doubt have been a lot smaller.

Anyway, it's done and dusted now. Sale lose away from home again, that's got a familiar ring to it, hasn't it?

Don't blame Big Mac. I'd have done the same. Give him time to settle and judge him then.

I'm sure the Tigers won't be making snap decisions about Aaron Mauger after a couple of performances.

Good rugby players, like good wine, get better with time, and I'm sure we'll all see a different game at Edgeley Park