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High fives mark a top four place

27/ 2/2008

SHARKS’ second row Chris Jones celebrated a rare victory at Welford Road with his ‘elated’ team-mates.

The visitors claimed the win in the last minute of the game, with a try from Sebastien Chabal.

Despite leaving it late Jones believes it was the result Sharks deserved, having dominated throughout the second half.

Jones said: "It was tight, you’re never going to walk away with a win from here.

"I did feel we had control all the way through and showed good composure at the end when we went points down to a try.

"We didn’t panic, we took control and a try was always on the cards."

It was not just Leicester players that Sharks had to contend with, there were also 17,000 vociferous supporters egging their team on.

"When you come down here you’ve also got to compete with the crowd," explained Jones. "They jeer and cheer at every opportunity, trying to sway the referee but the referee held his own and I think we controlled the game."

Despite missing five players to Six Nations duty, Sharks’ side still contained 12 capped players in the starting line-up and three on the bench.

Being able to call on such a wealth of experience, even during internationals, is key says Jones.

"A lot of teams have been hit by missing players but we’ve got the depth in the squad to ensure we can still perform and get results like we’ve proved today.

"It [means losing internationals] doesn’t make a massive difference when you are going into the business end of the season.

"I think we had a fantastic starting 15 and a lot of talent on the bench which always makes a big difference.

"I think that is one of the biggest differences when teams lose players to international duty - it’s whether you’ve got the strength in the bench. We had a few internationals on the bench there and coming through and proving themselves."

Inflicting only the second home defeat of the season on Leicester, and earning their first ever league double over Tigers, left Sharks players in good spirits after the match.

"Everyone’s elated," added Jones. "But we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We’ve got Worcester next week. We’re going to enjoy the win today and regroup for Monday and hopefully get top points next week."