Mako tackles Cipriani

By Duchessmalfi
December 8 2014

  Saracens got back to winning ways on Saturday at an icy AJ Bell stadium.  Mako Vunipola was welcomed back for his first start since his long injury after his brief cameo last week, along with Kruis, Wigglesworth and Farrell from international duty, all 4 of whom slotted straight into the starting XV.  Farrell was at 12, which unfortunately for Sale's marketing team meant they would not get their #Cipsforengland vs Farrell battle they wanted.  At least not to begin with.  

#Cipsforengland got us underway and Saracens immediately won a penalty from the resulting maul. Quick lineout ball, some good lines and fast hands got the ball to Strettle in the outside channel, who carried strongly into contact before a stray Sale hand knocked on in the ruck. First scrum of the day and an area which, to put it mildly, has not gone well in recent weeks. We need not have worried; a solid scrum from both sides and the ball was worked into midfield before another scrum from a knock-on which, this time, resulted in a Sarries penalty, Sale penalised for angling in. No hesitation in skipper Al pointing for the posts and Hodgson put Saracens 0-3 up.

Sale were to be tenacious all day and came fighting straight back. Hodgson was caught offside at a ruck to give away a penalty in midfield, just into the Sale half. #Cipsforengland briefly eyed the posts before appearing to decide it was just out of range and put in a good touch-finder deep into Saracens' 22. Sale's rolling maul has been dangerous all season and it proved so once again, Saracens only able to stop it just short of the line with illegal means. Into the corner once more and Sale set up this rolling maul perfectly, quickly getting the ball down and away from Kruis' long reach. Saracens were never really set in their defence and Sale easily powered over for the first try of the match, Lund the benefactor. #Cipsforengland knocked over the conversion. 7-3 after 8 minutes.

A brief period of aerial ping pong slowed the game down a little before, on 15 minutes, Hodgson sparked it back into life with a moment of pure class. Kruis won good lineout ball and it was passed to Hodgson who spotted a gap, rolled back the years and went through it before stepping both of Sale's cover defenders on the outside showing excellent speed and footwork before passing back inside to a waiting Farrell who, despite being brought down, had enough momentum to slide towards, and then place the ball over, the line. I imagine it is a familiar sight to many of the Sale faithful to see Charlie in such majestic form, albeit with a tad less hair now. Hodgson was off-target with the extras, probably still thinking about how good his break was. 7-8 after quarter of an hour.

The match settled down a little after the end-to-end opening with both sides demonstrating a desire to play attacking rugby with ball in hand mixed with the standard dose of seemingly aimless kicking. Saracens appeared to be trying to remain economical at the breakdown, keeping runners out in midfield and putting minimal numbers into the ruck the clear defenders. On more than one occasion throughout the half this led to slow ball or conceding penalties as we failed to get Sale bodies away quick enough. Our breakdown work was certainly not as dominant as it used to be and several times we allowed #Cipsforengland to clear Sale's line from a turnover penalty instead of under pressure in open play. Saracens were the first to concede a penalty within kicking range just after the half hour. It was right in the centre of the pitch and required a bit of welly as well as accuracy but #Cipsforengland had both. This coincided with a bit of a reshuffle in the Sarries backline, Bosch coming on to replace Hodgson (who it was revealed after the game had a stinger) meaning Farrell was moved to 10. His first act at fly half was to knock over a penalty from a tricky angle after Sale had gone in at the side at a breakdown. 35 minutes gone, 10-11.

The last 5 minutes of the first half were a bit of a drab affair, with both sides appearing happy to kick to the other and wait for a bit of a rest and their half time oranges.

With teams and crowd all refreshed it was onto the second half. After a brief period of territorial kicking, Saracens worked the ball into a good attacking position deep into Sale territory. Ashton took the ball into contact and Sale were penalised at the breakdown. From what would have been a tricky angle to go for the posts, Farrell put the ball into the corner. Kruis set up the maul and marshalled the drive well, clearly shouting and gesturing at the backline to get involved when the additional oomph was required.

Saracens drove to the line where Billy Vunipola sheared off and touched down. Farrell hooked the conversion and, despite thinking himself the ball had just snuck inside the upright, the flags stayed down. 10-16 after 45 minutes.

The initial attacking intent from the first half was carried through by both teams. Farrell was playing flat and distributing nicely. Strettle and Ashton were playing with the full width of the pitch and it was encouraging to see them both getting into the game after their lack of ball in recent times. Billy was visibly enjoying having his brother back and, with two Vunipolas standing in midfield, it meant the defence couldn't focus on Billy with other ball carriers around. #Cipsforengland had been testing our defence with a few little chips in behind, one of which stuck dangerously with Cueto but was quickly snuffed out.

On 55 minutes, the match and momentum turned slightly. Du Plessis, who had scrummaged well, was replaced by Johnston whose first action was to immediately give away a penalty. I don't know much about the front row myself having never played there, but something is clearly wrong with JJ's game at the moment and the coaches and himself have their work cut out to get him back playing well and with confidence. His body language at the moment is not that of a man at the top of his game (neither is his penalty count). #Cipsforengland was also forced off with what appeared to be a knock to his leg and was replaced my Macleod.

There was a Christmas feel around the stadium on the day with mulled wine in the bar, a local school choir singing carols outside, Christmas trees around the place and sparklers on the pitch. This had clearly got Saracens into the Christmas spirit and they decided to gift Sale their next score, wrapped in some lovely paper and with a nice shiny tag; "To Sale, with love from all of us here at Saracens Xx". Magnus Lund went pillaging into our 22 and pulled in several of our defenders, most of whom subsequently slipped off him, leaving holes and overlaps everywhere. Sale spotted the gaps in the left field and shipped the ball from the ruck into the hands of Ostrikov who ran in through another missed tackle and a big gap to score the try. From in the stands, it just looked like everyone had stood still and stopped tackling and the number of missed or slipped tackles was simply staggering. Macleod pulled his conversion wide and, just over the hour mark, it was 15-16.

Saracens went straight back into the Sale 22 and were going through the phases well. With the referee's arm out playing advantage, the ball was pulled back by De Kock (who had replaced Wigglesworth in the earlier round of substitutions) to Farrell who put over the drop goal. 15-19, quarter of an hour to play.

More substitutions were made by both sides with skipper Al being replaced by Big Jim, Jackson Wray on for Burger and Barrington replacing an increasingly tired looking Mako Vunipola.

JJ was still being penalised at the scrum enabling Sale to keep the pressure on our line with kicks into the corner. Good work from Billy at the lineout and an excellent counter drive disrupted the first attempt and Kruis got up well at the second to force the turnover. On 77 minutes Sale sent yet another penalty into the corner. Saracens were on a final warning and Sale set up an ominous looking drive. Excellent work from the pack, Billy and Wray in particular, forced the ball to ground 5 metres out. A series of pick and go's edged Sale closer to our line and hearts closer to mouths in the stands. With a minute to go, Sale picked and went again but the carrier had the ball in the wrong arm leaving it exposed at the side of the ruck. Ashton spotted the chance and latched onto the ball leading to referee Leighton Hodges blowing for a penalty to Saracens. Farrell took the full allotted minute of the kick to touch to ensure that it would be the last act of the game and the final whistle went, much to the delight of the noisy Saracens faithful in the stands! 15-19 at full time.

It wasn't a vintage performance by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a win and it keeps European hopes alive and picks up the team after a disappointing run in the Premiership.

Plenty of positives to take from the game; Mako's return, the width we put on the ball, everything George Kruis did (don't know who the official man of the match is but he's mine), Big Jim’s impact sub performance and, as nerve-wracking as it was, the defence in the last 5 minutes. It was almost like watching the wolfpack again. Almost. 

Sale (10) 15

Try: Lund, Ostrikov, Con: Cipriani Pen: Cipriani

Saracens (11) 19

Tries: Farrell, B Vunipola Pens: Hodgson, Farrell Drop-goal: Farrell

Saracens: 15. Alex Goode; 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Duncan Taylor, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. David Strettle; 10. Charlie Hodgson, 9. Richard Wigglesworth; 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Jamie George, 3. Petrus Du Plessis, 4. George Kruis, 5. Alistair Hargreaves ©, 6. Kelly Brown, 7. Jacques Burger, 8. Billy Vunipola.  Replacements; 16. Brett Sharman, 17. Richard Barrington, 18. James Johnston, 19. Jim Hamilton, 20. Jackson Wray, 21. Neil de Kock, 22. Marcelo Bosch, 23. Chris Wyles.

Sale: 15.Mike Haley; 14. Luke McLean, 13. Mark Jennings, 12. Sammy Tuitupou, 11. Mark Cueto; 10. Danny Cipriani, 9. Chris Cusiter; 1. Eifion Lewis Roberts, 2. Marc Jones, 3. Vadim Cobilas, 4. Jonathan Mills, 5. Andrei Ostrikov, 6. Mark Easter, 7. Magnus Lund ©, 8. Josh Beaumont  Replacements: 16. Shalva Mamukashvili, 17. Ross Harrison, 18. James Flynn, 19. Viliami Fihaki, 20. Andrew Hughes, 21. Will Cliff, 22. Nick Macleod, 23. Will Addison 

Attendance: 7,053

Referee: Leighton Hodges

Back to winning ways

Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 08/12/2014 12:05

TheSaracens.com
08/12/2014 12:05

Thanks Will, an accomplished debut and welcome to the ranks of our reporters!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014:12:16:13:10:58 by sutton_sarrie.

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Gryff
08/12/2014 13:34

good report thank you

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TonyTaff
08/12/2014 14:34

An impressive debut. Thanks.

It's a long time since Sports network paid anything!

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The Bard
08/12/2014 18:58

Great stuff. Puts the miserable report in the telegraph from the grumpy Steve James to shame. I thought there was plenty of good rugby to enjoy from both sides.

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davidthesarrie
09/12/2014 13:19

Superb review. Thank you.

Spare a thought for poor young JJ. Having a torrid time and looking really low. He will come back and be an asset to us in the future. Do not despair young man!

An happier return coach journey than if we had not defended so well in that last ten.

On to AzP on Saturday, all still to play for.

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AP
09/12/2014 14:48

As another who joined Operation Enya, thank you for the fine report, though I dispute that either the temperature or the atmosphere at the AJ Bell were "icy" - the weather was positively balmy compared to some days at AzP, and, though some Sale supporters were increasingly unimpressed with the referee in the last 5 minutes, they were pleasant enough to us.

Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade

🌻🌻🌻

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The Bard
09/12/2014 19:13

How many were there on the coaches? Couldn't quite count 2000 from what I saw on the telly...

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AP
09/12/2014 22:39

One supporters coach of 70, a second coach with staff, I think, rather than supporters. There were a number of supporters who had travelled independently as well.

Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade

🌻🌻🌻

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TonyTaff
10/12/2014 12:28

Being a member of T.I.T.S.(*) has the benefit of free-form ale appreciation

(*) The Independent Travelling Sarries!

It's a long time since Sports network paid anything!

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