The multi national seconds registered a thrilling victory at Sale thanks to the efforts of their well drilled pack who were in a dominant mood throughout, a situation that paved the way for a well deserved win.
Once again team manager Tony Gilmour had foraged successfully in the Halls of Residence at Lancaster University which ensured the Vale to travelled to Heywood Road with a full compliment of players, although only two threequarters were included in the back division that had played at Sedgley Park the previous week.
Sale opened the scoring with an early penalty goal but their cause was not helped when their loose head prop was sent to the sin bin. This played immediately into the Vale's hands because in the eighth minute they went into the lead.
The ball was punted to the corner, the Vale juggernaut arrived en-masse to set up a maul which ended with Sam Hoare spinning off the fringe for a try converted by Aaron Melville.
A pattern quickly emerged, basically it was forwards against backs, and the Vale certainly knew which side their bread was buttered and for long spells they had their opposite numbers on toast.
However, the Sale threat was ever present when the ball was pinged around but it was their number eight who touched down for a converted try after a passage of adventurous rugby in the thirty first minute.
Three minutes later Sam Hoare reproduced his whirly-gig act with another cyclonic pirouette, his try being converted by Aaron Melville.
Aaron Melville shunted the Vale further ahead with a penalty goal in the forty fourth minute as the Vale continued their policy of luring Sale into a series of forward rumbles. The Vale's supremacy was underlined when number eight Tom Smith broke from the base of a scrum to grapple his way over in the forty eighth minute, the reliable Aaron Melville again adding the extras.
Holding a comfortable lead of fourteen points the Vale were on course for victory but the home side took full advantage when the Vale either failed to find touch or indulged in some passages of loose, unstructured rugby. Vale's approach might not have looked pretty, but their overall command was to be found in the rugby manual, sub section, "Up Your Jumper Time."
Any scraps that came Sale's way were punished by their threequarters. Tries in the from the hosts in the sixty sixth and seventy seventh minutes, one of which was converted; the conversion for their final try was missed which if it had been successful would have tied the game. But the Vale rallied in the closing minutes to close the game out and go on to collect their second away win of the season.
A massive contribution was made by the forwards, with the two Sam's, Hadlington and Hoare, well to the fore, but one of their fully paid up union members Matt Field, was drafted into the threequarters where his solid presence effectively blocked any easy passage through the centre. But at the final whistle it was a victory based around the contributions from the whole squad,