London Irish vs Sale Sharks Picks, Odds, and Predictions
By Robert Duff in Rugby
Published:
- Sale Sharks are 2.5-point favorites away to London Irish in their Gallagher Rugby Premiership match on Sunday, September 26
- London Irish were 36-24 losers at Worcester Warriors in last week’s season opener
- The Sharks edged Bath 20-19 on Match Day 1 at home
Choose any angle you want to look at Sunday’s Gallagher Rugby Premiership match between London Irish and the Sale Sharks and the view remains unchanged. The Irish appear to be out of luck.
Sale have won eight matches in a row from The Exiles. That’s the longest active win streak in the Gallagher Rugby Premiership and it’s one off the Sale club record. The Sharks once won nine straight over Leeds.
Oddsmakers are tipping the Sharks but not in a big way. The away side is being set as just 2.5-point favorites.
London Irish vs Sale Sharks Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread |
|---|---|---|
| London Irish | +145 | +2.5 (-110) |
| Sale Sharks | -185 | -2.5 (-115) |
| Draw | +1800 |
Odds as of September 24th at DraftKings.
Kickoff on Sunday at the Brentford Community Stadium is set for 10am ET. The weather forecast is showing sunny skies with cloudy periods and the chance of a shower. The temperature is projected to be 70 degrees with 12 mph wind conditions.
Rough Waters For Sharks
The season opener started out swimmingly for the Sharks and then things got choppy. Up 17-3 at halftime over Bath, Sale squandered that advantage and fell behind 19-17. A 79th-minute Kieran Wilkinson penalty earned the Sharks a 20-19 win.
Quirke 🤝 McGuigan @SaleSharksRugby were off and running at the AJ Bell Stadium yesterday with Raffi Quirke making the break to set up Byron McGuigan for the try 🦈
Full match replay and highlights available on our website ➡️ https://t.co/DisNf4w1Ex#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/Jr0z4QYefb
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) September 19, 2021
Sharks director of rugby Alex Sanderson is making just one change to the side that earned the win. Back from international duty with the USA Eagles, fly-half AJ MacGinty steps in for the injured Rob du Preez and will wear the #10 shirt.
Irish Improvement
London Irish will look to pick up where they left off against Worcester. The Exiles scored more points in the final quarter of that match (14) than they did during the first hour (10).
The Exiles haven’t started a season 0-2 since 2015-16. London Irish was relegated at the end of that season.
Sunday sees @londonirish host their first home game of the season ☘️
They take on @SaleSharksRugby, who make one change with AJ MacGinty coming back in 🦈
Catch it live on @btsportrugby 📺#GallagherPrem preview ➡️ https://t.co/rokd8Pf5Cd #LIRvSAL pic.twitter.com/T35fMsvbiD
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) September 24, 2021
Center Curtis Rona and full-back Tom Parton will both be making their 50th appearance for London Irish.
London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney has made just one change to the Exiles’ starting 15 from the squad that lost to Worcester. Terrence Hepetema is in at center for Benhard van Rensburg, who drops to the subs’ bench.
Set Sale
The Sharks show nine wins in their last 11 Gallagher Rugby Premiership matches. However, Sale is winless in its last two away matches. The Sharks haven’t opened the campaign 2-0 since the 2008-09 season.
London Irish haven’t beaten Sale since recording a 25-23 win in April of 2015. Last season, Sale won 21-13 at London Irish on December 6 at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Eight of London Irish’s last nine home games at home in the Premiership have ended with single-digit margins on the scoreboard.
Grab a coffee and settle in for a few minutes of running rugby!!#COYW
Check out this latest item: Highlights: Worcester Warriors v London Irish – Round 1 https://t.co/EiXJMzGOYn via @premrugby
— #RugbyWorcs (@RugbyWorcs) September 19, 2021
London Irish players had a lot of possession in their opener but didn’t do much with it The Exiles carried the ball for 796 meters in the Premiership opening round, the most of any team. However, they recorded only 7.3 meters per carry on average, the fifth-lowest of any team .
Sale gained 37 meters from their six mauls in the Premiership opening round, the most of any team. The Sharks scored a try from one of those six mauls.
Sale haven’t loss a match to London Irish in Premiership Rugby since the Exiles 25-23 win at Madejski Stadium in April 2015. Only having to give 2.5 points to bet Sale seems like a bargain in this instance.
Pick: Sale Sharks -2.5 (-115)
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
