Chester RUFC eased lingering fears of relegation with a thrilling 41-26 bonus point victory against Sale at Hare Lane in National League Two North.

Five defeats in six games had dragged Chester into trouble but Jon Aby’s men dug deep to secure an important win and move clear of the danger zone.

Chester took an early 7-0 lead when Guy Ford tapped a quick penalty and passed wide to his left for Craig Ross to cross unopposed with Rhys Hayes slotting the conversion but Sale clawed back three points from the boot of Liam McGovern after the hosts were penalised for a wheeling a scrum.

Hayes soon replied with a penalty of his own and on 15 minutes Chester went over for their second try as Ross returned a loose clearance, shrugging off three would-be tacklers. The ball was shipped to Ross White, who made ground before passing for Carwyn Williams to touchdown with Hayes’ conversion making the score 17-3.

Sale responded shaved three points off the lead with a second penalty and closed to 17-13 on the half hour after Chester conceded two penalties and the forwards carried the ball 25 metres from a lineout drive and John O’Donnell crossed for a converted score.

Man of the match Mike Craven carries the ball forward for Chester against Sale
Man of the match Mike Craven carries the ball forward for Chester against Sale

Back came Chester with an excellent try of their own as Llion Jones stole a lineout ball close to the visitors’ line and the defence was caught far too narrow, allowing Ross to go in for his second of the game.

Sale continued to throw the ball around and were rewarded at the end of the first-half when Chris Mayor broke into the Chester 22, before passing for Jack Moorhouse to go over for a converted try, making the half-time score 24-20 to Chester.

Despite the slender lead, the hosts appeared capable of going on to take the win with better discipline and making the most of their increasing dominance at the scrum.

An early scrum penalty and a Sale breakdown infringement resulted in Adam Aigbokhae being sin-binned and Hayes knocking over three points to move Chester seven points clear.

Hayes then chipped in with a try after Sean Green carried the ball into the midfield and Tom Foden moved possession onto his fellow playmaker, who side-stepped two defenders before crossing the line, converting his own score to put Chester 34-20 ahead.

Sale were now finding it much harder to build attacking pressure than in the first-half. The visitors did manage two more penalties but were not able to seriously threaten the lead.

With full-time approaching, Chester won a lineout 30 metres from the Sale line and moved the ball left and right across the field until Hayes spotted a gap in midfield and broke clear before slipping the ball to White who crossed for the game’s final score with Hayes converting to wrap up the points.

Chester will face an extremely tough examination on Saturday with a trip to Cheshire rivals Macclesfield (3pm).

The hosts have a 10-point lead at the top of the table after beating second-placed Sedgley Park last weekend and could secure the title with victory at Priory Park.

Guy Ford with a crunching tackle to stop this Sale attack in its tracks
Guy Ford with a crunching tackle to stop this Sale attack in its tracks