Mallinder grateful for late surge
February 2, 2003

Sale boss Jim Mallinder praised his side for their commitment after two last-gasp tries handed the Sharks a flattering 23-11 win over London Irish on Sunday.

The visitors were level at 11-11 with the Exiles with 72 minutes played but they did not buckle under the pressure and instead stole victory with tries by Iain Fullarton and Andy Titterrell.

"I am very pleased with the performance," said Mallinder, whose side remain eight points adrift of table-toppers Gloucester in second.

"I thought the pack played admirably while we defended extremely well.

"I always knew this was going to be a hard-fought game but we kept our nerve in the final 15 to 20 minutes and scored a crucial try when it was 11 all."

London Irish's managing director Conor O'Shea was not bitter about defeat and instead admitted the best side triumphed on the day.

He added: "They deserved to win the game. Our lineout didn't function and after the first 10 minutes we didn't string much rugby together.

"I can see why they are second in the table. They have the best back line bar none in the Zurich Premiership.

"They will finish in the top three in the League. I am just surprised they didn't do better in Europe."

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