Premiership: Sale Sharks 26-24 Gloucester

South Africa scrum-half Faf de Klerk scored 11 points on his return to the Sale starting line-up

Sale withstood a second-half fightback to beat Gloucester and maintain their Premiership play-off hopes.

Faf de Klerk, AJ MacGinty and JP du Preez went over to give Sale a 19-12 half-time lead, with Santiago Socino responding with two close-range tries.

JL du Preez powered over from close range to put Sale in command at 26-12.

Charlie Chapman's interception try and Louis Hillman-Cooper's debut score brought Gloucester back to within two points, but the hosts held on.

The past seven league meetings have now been separated by six points as another titanic tussle between two closely matched sides went to the wire.

It was a crucial victory for Sale's play-off hopes as the seventh-placed Sharks move within four points of the top four with three matches of the season left.

Gloucester picked up two bonus points and remain fifth despite a third straight away defeat, two points behind fourth-placed Exeter and with a game in hand.

The hosts, who have lost just once at home in 12 months, were ahead early when Dan du Preez created a two-on-one for returning Springbok scrum-half De Klerk to finish.

Gloucester responded, and after forcing back-to-back penalties, rolled the Sharks back over their own line and Socino touched down.

Both sides traded turnovers in a high-intensity half before Sale restored the lead when MacGinty sneaked through a gap to cross from close range.

Socino exploited Gloucester's dominant rolling maul to grab his second of the afternoon, but Sale ended a tit-for-tat first half by grabbing the lead for a third time when JP du Preez powered over from close range.

Luke James' break ultimately gave territory for JL du Preez to power over and extend the lead to 26-12

But Gloucester, who fought back from 13 points down to beat Northampton last weekend, were on the comeback trail again when Chapman's length-of-the-field interception try and Hillman-Cooper's score on his Premiership bow made it 26-24 with 12 minutes to play.

Yet Sale showed composure and guile to keep play almost exclusively in Gloucester territory to grind out a seventh home win in nine Premiership outings this season.

Sale Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson:

"I'm pleased with the five points, but it's bittersweet after gifting them two. That could come back to bite us later on in the season, but we've just got to keep winning.

"We've got to focus on that and the positives. We've had some real issues with illness and injury over the last 10 days so for all those changes to occur and for the lads who weren't even involved at the start of the week to come on and do as well as they did, I'm chuffed for them.

"We haven't been able to do much set-piece training because of injuries and illness the last couple of weeks, so we will sharpen up on that and maybe take a leaf out of their book - have a look at their maul and see how they do it."

Gloucester head coach George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucester:

"I was quite pleased with that last 10 minutes, not pleased with how they kept getting in the corner, but pleased with how we kept them out to make sure we had that second point.

"There was a common theme on how they [Sale] were getting over the line and that's something we've got to have a good look at, but the boys stuck in the fight.

"I thought we managed our way out of it pretty well. We didn't get what we wanted out of the game and we couldn't get firing, but it's a tough place to come and two points is better than nothing."

Sale: James, Roebuck, R du Preez, Van Rensburg, Reed, MacGinty, de Klerk; Rodd, Ashman, Oosthuizen, JL du Preez, JP du Preez, Ross, Curry, D du Preez.

Replacements: Langdon, McIntyre, Jones, Postlethwaite, Taylor, Warr, Doherty, Metcalf.

Gloucester: Moyle, Carreras, Seabrook, Twelvetrees, Thorley, Barton, Meehan, Elrington, Socino, Balmain, Clarke, Alemanno, Reid, Ludlow, Ackermann.

Replacements: Walker, Ford-Robinson, O'Connor, Davidson, Clement, Chapman, Hillman-Cooper, Morgan.

Referee: Christophe Ridley (RFU).

• Rugby Weekly Union podcast - listen and subscribe here