McAlister outshines fellow All Black Mauger to help Sale beat Leicester

That decisive kick from close to halfway also finally settled the outcome of a tense, ferocious encounter. It meant Sale had hung on in the face of a sustained second-half onslaught by Leicester to secure a victory which lifts them above the Tigers into fourth place in the Guinness Premiership.

Yet, it was by no means the only meaningful contribution made by McAlister, who shaded his duel with former New Zealand team-mate Aaron Mauger on the strength of an explosive all-round performance.

The 24-year-old showed he has a game well suited to the harsh demands of English rugby. Going forward, he ran with power and purpose, his passing was largely tidy and he propelled the ball vast distances when kicking from hand, often under pressure. In defence, he was dependable and robust. One late hit on Dan Hipkiss was especially violent though both legal and effective.

Moments later, McAlister was named man of the match and Sale's director of rugby, Philippe Saint-Andre, declared himself satisfied with the new signing's efforts. "Luke did well," he said. "He is quick, he is skilful and his defence was very strong. He is starting to fit in well.

"It was important to beat Leicester because since we beat them in the 2006 Guinness Premiership final we've lost four times consecutively against them."

Leicester pushed the home side all the way but were undermined by a sloppy kicking display from Andy Goode. The fly half uncharacteristically missed four of his seven shots at goal, which meant the Tigers' command of the forward battle after the break brought them precious little reward. A bonus point but nothing more.

In the opening period, nervous tension played havoc with players from both sides. Passes went astray, kicks from outside the 22 flew into touch on the full and Sale's line-out malfunctioned time and again.

After Charlie Hodgson had landed two kicks to one by Goode, the Sharks very nearly conjured an eye-catching try out of the blue on the half-hour. Sebastien Chabal ran back a kick, then Hodgson released McAlister at full tilt and the centre thundered through a tackle and chipped ahead. He appeared to be obstructed by Goode but Julien Laharrague gathered the ball and crossed the line only for the video referee to rule out a try.

Hodgson notched a third penalty to put Sale six points clear and as they continued to swarm forward that elusive try finally arrived. Hodgson and McAlister combined to release Chabal in space on the right and he bulldozed his way into the 22. Sebastien Bruno rumbled on to within a metre of the line and then deft handling sent Rory Lamont away in the left corner.

But after Hodgson missed the conversion Chabal's knock-on from the restart allowed Leicester to respond immediately. Frank Murphy peeled away from the scrum, Goode looped round at pace and took a short pass then found Johne Murphy outside on the left wing. He ploughed through Laharrague to score.

The Sharks went into half-time 14-8 ahead but in the second period the visitors rallied as they resorted to a tighter, more forwardbased gameplan. Goode's boot kept failing him but he eventually registered two more penalties to bring the scores level, only for Hodgson to hit back with a kick of his own making it 17-14 in the 63rd minute.

Leicester did not go down without a fight, though, and Tom Varndell was just denied a try in the left corner as the mighty figure of Andrew Sheridan managed to tackle him into touch. Goode still had time to hit the post with another penalty attempt before McAlister stepped up to finish the job for Sale.

Leicester captain Martin Corry was left to rue a missed opportunity, saying: "This was a game we should have won but we let it slip." But Marcelo Loffreda, the Tigers' director of rugby, added: "It was a fair result because Sale took their chances and defended well."