National League Two North: Sale FC 22 Otley 16
OTLEY rescued a losing bonus point with a good last five minutes, during which James Wood scored a try and replacement Joshua Cruise landed a penalty.
The visitors were invited to kick off in sunshine but into a gale-force wind, and the weather quickly turned to rain and then sleet but they settled well.
They were close to scoring on several occasions, a promising maul being held up and a good kick just rolling dead with the pursuer on hand.
However, a well-organised Sale side went ahead on 14 minutes from a scrum near halfway, winger John O’Donnell coming inside to go in at the posts for fly half Liam McGovan to convert.
With the hosts using the wind to good effect, Otley were hard pressed to keep their line intact but the prospect of reaching half-time just seven points in arrears disappeared when the referee, indicating a deliberate knock-on, awarded Sale a penalty, McGovan taking the extra points with the final kick of the first half.
Although the wind died down significantly, Otley pressed from the re-start, and after eight minutes gained reward when Neil Chivers skipped over.
The visitors looked well set, driving Sale back over their line from a five-metre scrum only to concede a penalty, and a second infringement had them back in their 22, where a well-worked forward drive became a team effort, everyone except the scrum half driving lock William Davies over.
Cruise then landed a penalty to lift Otley, only for Sale to string four passes together enabling centre Tom Davenport to score, McGovan converting, before Otley's late comeback.
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