Premiership: Sale Sharks 35-26 Leicester Tigers

Sale Sharks scored three tries in the second half to stun the league leaders.

Freddie Burns kicked in two tries as the Tigers led 21-5 early in the second half.

Ben Curry, Arron Reed, and Dan Du Preez all tried to get the ball.

Sale won the game because of the penalties and try of Tom Roebuck.

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Few inside the ground would have tipped Sale after an error-strewn first period, in which it looked as though Tigers would add to their two wins in Europe with a return to winning ways in the league.

Their scores were chalk and cheese, with Montoya thundering over on the back of a destructive maul, while Porter was fleet of foot to race over from distance for the second.

Sale did show a glimpse of what was to come later in the game when James carved his way through to put them on the board, but Burns boot was also helping to build a healthy lead from the tee.

Steve Borthwick may have thought the game was won when he took off Burns early in the second half, but the Sharks had other ideas.

Curry's try, breaking out from a maul, was set-piece ingenuity, and Reed showed devastating pace after a flowing move to the left created a narrow corridor to score.

The back-rower showed smartness to block and gather to score after the full-back tried to kick the ball downfield.

With their tails up, Sale were pegged back almost immediately, as Tigers used a penalty to crank up the pressure with field position that the direct Montoya took advantage of for his second try.

The hosts picked themselves off the canvas, and with the Tigers desperately clinging on they forced penalties which MacGinty kicked on his 100th appearance, and the result was beyond doubt.

Alex Sanderson is the director of rugby.

That was a fantastic game from the boys, and a dramatic turn of events. We definitely finished the game strongly and got a terrific result despite the fact that there was no intensity in the first half.

After a game and a performance like that, I can't take the credit.

The players deserve all of the credit. This result will bode well for the future. It will lift the energy around the place.

Steve Borthwick is the director of rugby.

The effort from all of my players was amazing. We had a young team out with lots of young players, but they all gave it their all.

I thought it was a good game to watch, as it was two really good teams going at it. The result has not gone our way, but we will learn from it.

For large parts of the game, we competed well and the guys that came in were exceptional. I adjusted the team as best I could, but we just came up short.

We will all have a good review of the game and learn a lot from it.

The following players were sold: L James, R du Preez, Van Rensburg, McGuigan, MacGinty, Cliff, Harrison, Ashman, and J-L du Preez.

JP du Preez, Warr, S James, Reed, and McIntyre are replacements.

Hegarty; Potter, Scott, Kelly, Porter; Burns, Wigglesworth; Wells, Green; Martin, Reffell; Cole; and Wells, Green, all played in the game.

Replacements: Dolly, Van Wyk, Leatigaga, Liebenberg, Robinson, Van Poortvliet, Socino, Saumaki.

Craig Maxwell-Keys was the referee.

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