Premiership: Sale win 22-19 at Kingsholm to leave Gloucester bottom

England winger Jonny May found no way through for Gloucester against Sale

Gloucester were left bottom of the Premiership after being stung by Josh Beaumont's late Sale try at Kingsholm.

The home side led 16-9 at half-time after two tries inside 10 minutes from prop Fraser Balmain and young Wales international winger Louis Rees-Zammit.

But AJ MacGinty's boot kept Sale in touch with three first-half penalties - and two more followed to make it 16-15.

Lloyd Evans' third penalty nudged Gloucester to 19-15 up, but fit-again Beaumont crossed two minutes from time.

• Exeter suffer first league defeat of season at Wasps

After MacGinty's conversion competed a 17-point individual haul for the Sale number 10, there was still time for an ugly late mass altercation between players from both sides and both benches.

That led to Gloucester replacement back Billy Twelvetrees being yellow-carded for pushing one of the Sale water carriers, who had tried to stop the ball being returned to the pitch quickly.

But the game had already effectively been decided by the controversial penalty decision against Gloucester in the Sale 22 which cost vital ground and led to the match-winning try from Beaumont, on as a second-half replacement after 14 months out with a knee injury.

It gave the visitors the final attacking platform, which ultimately led to former England captain Bill Beaumont's son crashing over a pile of bodies - confirmed by the video referee to earn caretaker boss Paul Deacon his first win since succeeding Steve Diamond.

Gloucester had slipped to the foot of the early-season table after previous backmarkers Worcester, who have lost their past five league and European matches, were officially awarded four points for the Boxing Day postponement against Harlequins.

Sale stand-off AJ MacGinty kicked three first-half penalties and then three more successful kicks after the break for a 17-point individual haul

But the Cherry and Whites, who ran Premiership champions Exeter close at Sandy Park, got so close to getting that win.

After Balmain's opening score, they produced the game's best try when young Welsh outside-half Lloyd Evans made a beautiful break, freeing Chris Harris to make ground down the middle, from where he found Rees-Zammit, who took off to steam in at the right corner.

But, after being kept in it by MacGinty's punishment of too many penalty errors, and following Harris' late departure, Sale kept their heads.

Having also won at Kingsholm by a similarly narrow 23-17 scoreline in late February, this ended a run of three straight losses, having been beaten by Toulon and Edinburgh in the Heineken Champions Cup prior to the home defeat by Wasps.

Gloucester head coach George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

"Frustrated is the word. We didn't quite do as well as did last week but, in a very physical contest, the boys did very well for most of the game. And I'm very positive about where we're going

"We knew it would a hard battle. Sale are a niggly side. They throw themselves into the breakdown and push the boundaries, which they're good at.

"But it was a poor finish to a good contest, with the scrum decision at the end a disgrace - we'd scrummaged right through them.

"And there was Chris Harris being taken off for a head injury when there's a no-arms shoulder in the back of his head. No-one looked at it and it should have been dealt with. Regardless of what the officials will say, they'll look back at that and wince."

Sale interim coach Paul Deacon:

"Emotions boil over, and a lot of people make it a bigger issue than it actually is. I don't think there was anything untoward, really. It just didn't look great.

"The lads showed commitment to the cause, team spirit, all those cliches. It was all there to see.

"The game could have gone either way. I am sure Gloucester are feeling hard done by, and I probably would have done if we had lost. It's fantastic to get the four points, but there are still things to improve on."

Sale captain Jono Ross:

"We had a bit of a heart of heart amongst the boys. We questioned ourselves on our desire and grit and that was there in bucket loads. Maybe that hasn't been there the last few weeks."

Gloucester: Moyle; Rees-Zammit, Harris, Atkinson, May; Evans, Varney; Rapava-Ruskin, Hanson, Balmain, Slater, Craig, Reid, Ludlow (capt), Ackermann.

Replacements: Venner (for Varney 53), Twelvetrees (for Atkinson 68), Garvey (for Craig 68), Walker (for Hanson 68), Nagle-Taylor (for Ackermann 68), Ford-Robinson (for Balmain 68), Seville (for Rapava-Ruskin 72), Seabrook (for Harris 76).

Sin-bin: Ludlow (50), Twelvetrees (79)

Sale: S James; Roebuck, R du Preez, Hill, Yarde; MacGinty, de Klerk; Rodd, van der Merwe, Oosthuizen, Wiese, JP du Preez, Ross (capt), T Curry, D du Preez.

Replacements: Morozov (for Rodd 50), McGuigan (for Roebuck 51), Cooper-Woolley (for Ooosthuizen 57), Cliff (for de Klerk 59), Beaumont (for J du Preez 62), L James (for Hill 69).

Not used: Dugdale.

Sin-bin: Ross (28).

Referee: Christophe Ridley.

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