Yet having been on the ropes for so long, the Sharks hit back with virtually their first visit to the Leicester line when a spell of pressure ended with Ford feeding du Preez’s run under the posts.
The crowd were on their feet to welcome long-time servants Cole and Youngs on to home turf one last time, but the momentum and energy seemed to be all with the visitors who levelled through Ford’s third penalty with 15 minutes left.
Yet it was another Tigers replacement, Perese, who stole the show almost instantly, hitting the line at full tilt just inside the Sale half and scorching away on a diagonal run to the left corner.
Chessum went close to sealing the match after Freddie Steward’s try-saving tackle on Du Preez and Emeka Ilione had made a crucial turnover in front of his own posts.
And in a frantic finale, the Tigers had to summon up one last huge defensive push in front of their own line to withstand a late, late Sale surge and ensure it would be them who made it to Twickenham next weekend.
Leicester: Steward, Radwan, Kata, Woodward, Hassell-Collins, Pollard, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Montoya, Hayes, Henderson, Chessum, Liebenberg, Reffell, Cracknell.
Replacements: Clare, Cronin, Cole, Rogerson, Ilione, Youngs, Volavola, Perese.
Sale: Carpenter, Roebuck, Robert du Preez, Ma’asi-White, Reed, Ford, Quirke; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Van Rhyn, Hill, Tom Curry, Ben Curry, Jean-Luc du Preez.
Replacements: McElroy, McIntyre, John, Bamber, Dan du Preez, Warr, James, O’Flaherty.
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