There was little to suggest the Champion of Champions Cup fixture would go against form when Sale Sharks hosted Glasgow Warriors on Saturday. The visitors came through 27-45, and here's the thing — it wasn't the kind of result anyone was banking on. We'd backed the home side at 73 per cent confidence, but the match had other ideas.
Sale came out with energy, or so it looked at first. They were competitive in the early exchanges, but Glasgow found their rhythm and kept knocking on the door. By then the home side was chasing the game rather than setting the tempo, and the visitors picked up momentum they didn't let go of.
The Sharks' recent form had been solid enough — four wins from five, including a convincing 50-28 over Bath. Glasgow, meanwhile, had drawn with Ulster and lost narrowly to the Bulls. To be fair, those results suggested a tighter contest, but the final score told a different story.
Our prediction didn't come off because the visitors switched up their approach. Sale looked comfortable against the teams they'd beaten recently, but Glasgow came for a cross they never reached and turned the game on its head. The home side simply couldn't find a way back into it once the visitors took control.
The result leaves Glasgow in a stronger position in the standings, while Sale will need to reassess. It wasn't a bad display from the hosts, but they were outclassed when it mattered. That's the nature of this competition — one moment changes everything.
