Sale 43 – 10 Newcastle

Friday’s Premiership rugby: Wingers Arron Reed (two) and Tom Roebuck (two) scored in addition to a penalty try as Sale Sharks proved far too strong for Newcastle Falcons on head coach Steve Diamond’s return to the Salford Community Stadium; Callum Chick scored a consolation try in defeat

Tom Roebuck scored twice as Sale cruised to a thumping 43-10 bonus-point win to condemn Newcastle to a 25th successive Premiership defeat.

The homegrown winger, who made his England debut against Japan in the summer, produced two clinical second-half finishes to put himself in the frame for the autumn internationals.

Arron Reed’s early brace, a penalty try and a Will Addison score saw Alex Sanderson’s Sharks establish a 28-3 interval lead to clinch the bonus point before half-time.

Roebuck then seized centre stage with his double after the break, while the visitors claimed a consolation try through captain Callum Chick.

For ex-Sale player and boss Steve Diamond it was a bitterly disappointing return to his hometown club as Newcastle’s long wait for a victory continued.

Sale began brightly and opened the scoring inside the fifth minute when fly-half Rob du Preez kicked to the left corner for Reed to collect and touch down.

Du Preez kicked a superb conversion to improve Reed’s try and put the hosts 7-0 up.

Newcastle were dealt a blow with full-back Elliott Obatoyinbo forced off with a knock and replaced by Louis Brown.

Yet the Falcons, bolstered by the return of speedy winger Adam Radwan, initially steadied themselves from those early setbacks and began to make inroads inside Sale’s 22-metre line.

Their period of pressure forced the Sharks to defend stoutly, but it also led them to concede a penalty from a ruck which Ethan Grayson kicked to get the visitors off the mark.

From there the pendulum swung back in Sale’s favour as they went in search of a second try which arrived in the 22nd minute.

Full-back Joe Carpenter broke superbly inside the left channel and found Reed outside him with a neat pass which sent the winger racing clear to score his second try.

Du Preez’s second conversion made it 14-3 and Reed went close to a hat-trick when another fine move sent him racing down the left flank.

But moments later the hosts’ third score came with a penalty try, with Chick sin-binned for collapsing a maul.

Reed was then forced off with a knock in the 33rd minute, but Addison was sent over the line following a short-range scrum and early in the second half fellow winger Roebuck finished off a flowing move by touching down inside the right channel.

Newcastle hit back with a close-range score from Chick and Grayson converted, while Sale hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie was sin-binned, but the hosts ran out easy victors.

Roebuck produced a superb try late on, collecting a kick from Du Preez to touch down in the right corner for his second of the evening to underline his England credentials.

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