Charlie Hodgson may have become the leading all-time Guinness Premiership scorer but it was not enough to prevent Newcastle Falcons' fine comeback from a 13-point deficit. If that was not bad enough his achievement was also overshadowed by a 23-year-old amateur who is back at work this morning.
The Sale fly-half kicked 20 points to nudge on to 1,492 Premiership points but the Falcons' Andrew Fenby managed to score the crucial try when Newcastle were 19–18 down. It was the catalyst for the visitors to go on and grab a fifth straight victory and while there may be nothing particularly novel about that, there is about Fenby as he is a genuine throwback, working Monday to Friday as an accountant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Newcastle.
"Perfect, I couldn't ask for much more than that," he said afterwards. "I really enjoyed it and it was a great start. It is all a bit of a blur now. I will have to be careful how I celebrate on the bus as I have to be in the office for nine. I'll be auditing and ticking a few invoices through, something like that."
Fenby has not been entirely plucked from obscurity, having scored 73 tries in 78 matches for the National League Two side Blaydon as well as training "whenever I can" with Newcastle, but Hodgson must wonder what he has to do to have his own slice of the glory.
He has spent his career in the shadow of Jonny Wilkinson, whose points tally he surpassed, and that continued with gusto yesterday with all the gossip at Edgeley Park based around Wilkinson's immediate and supposedly France-based future.
Sale immediately set about impressing their new head coach Jason Robinson by scoring the first try after only two minutes as Hodgson kicked into the corner, they regained the ball from the resulting line-out, before opting for horsepower as the flanker Neil Briggs forced his way over.
Hodgson's conversion was followed up by two quick penalties as Newcastle displayed woeful discipline, conceding the kicks in front of goal. Tom May then kicked Newcastle a penalty but Hodgson responded with a further three-pointer.
The visitors' handling then became sharper, their decision-making more succinct and as Micky Young and May superbly kept the ball flowing, only Sale's well-drilled defence denied Newcastle as time and time again the Falcons could not find a hole in Sale's line big enough to score.
They had to make do with another May penalty until the prop Jon Golding found the tiniest of chinks to cross as they ended the first half on a deserved high, despite May missing the conversion.
The half-time break did nothing to quell their desire as immediately after the restart Jamie Noon fed Danny Williams who sidestepped past two men to score, before Hodgson again regained the lead for Sale with another penalty.
Fenby then had his moment, scoring comfortably as the Falcons shifted the ball from left to right to create a tempting overlap. May slotted the conversion before Hodgson overtook Wilkinson thanks to two more simple penalties to make it 25-25 but then Newcastle overturned a Sharks scrum and Brent Wilson stomped over from two yards as the superb May kicked the final extras. A thrilling afternoon.
Sale Sharks McLeod (Kuadey, 78); Bell, M Tait, Thomas (Keil, 62), Ripol; Hodgson, Peel (Leck, 68); Roberts, M Jones, Turner (O'Donnell, 61), Schofield, Cox, White, Briggs, Fernandez Lobbe.
Tries Briggs. Cons: Hodgson. Pens Hodgson 6.
Newcastle Falcons A Tait; D Williams (Fenby, 46), Noon, Tu'ipulotu, Visser; May, Young (Charlton 79); Golding (Winter, 68), Vickers (Thompson, 69), Hayman, Swinson (Parling, 66), Sorensen, Dowson, B Wilson, Balding (Winter, 68)
Tries Golding, D Williams, Fenby, B Wilson
Cons May 3 Pens May 2
Referee S Davey. Attendance:8,427.
