By Innings
April 3 2022

Friday night, Sale Sharks on home ground at the AJ Bell stadium, the hosts really needing a win if they are to maintain their press for a top-four finish.  Add in the sub-plots, the hosts needing to improve on their long-term record of regular losses, home and away, against their visitors, and their new Director of Rugby hosting his old club and mentor, Sarries and Mark McCall.

The previous week saw Sale score four tries, but a last gasp penalty converted by Cipriani denied them a win.  A draw against a spirited Bath side was perhaps a fair result for Bath, and the extra point for the four tries equally fair to Sale.  Sale have a record of recent close results, we have to go back to early February for a game with more than seven points has decided their results, and most have been drawn or decided by one or two points.  Sarries had a poor ‘Showdown’, with coaches and players admitting that it was not a game with which to be pleased, win or not. 

So, we have plenty of reason to look for improved performance as the Friday game opens this round, what would rightly be called the beginning of ‘the business end’ of the season.  Leicester and Sarries seem likely to take two of the top-four slots, but seven more have hopes of the other two, and five of them are probably scanning the future fixtures with an equally anxious eye on qualification for Europe’s top table. 

With so much at stake, in table points and bragging rights, few will have settled down with a curry and a beer at home expecting beautiful flowing rugby, whatever Thatcher’s Gold may have to say during every advert break.  The was to be decided by whoever had best prepared for a heavyweight forwards battle and much, for which read very much, tactical kicking. 

For most of the game, we watched exactly what we did expect: massive forwards on the rampage, tactical kicking taking kick numbers towards levels not seen for many seasons.  There was a feeling that we had reached the play-offs already, as both sides played not to lose, rather than to win, for much of the game.  Sarries’ selection was certainly spot-on, and we saw Tim Swinson join Nick Isiekwe in the second row, with Maro Itoje moving to six. 

Sarries took a little while to settle into game, perhaps because Sharks seemed to play with pace and commitment that would rattle almost any side.  As a result, twice Sarries found themselves on the wrong side of the whistle, and were made to pay, taking Sale to 6-0.  The second penalty came from a contentious collision between Aled Davies and Faf de Klerk, the former bundled into the latter as Vincent Koch arrived in time to accelerate Davies’ progress.  Sarries’ efforts also brought penalties, but three attempts did not trouble the scorer.  Perhaps Eliot Daly from 52 metres was a chancy one, but Alex Lozowski surprised himself and us by missing his first two. 

Almost from the beginning, we saw a weakness in Sale’s game; try as they did, get into the Sarries red zone as often they did, they simply could not score from the incursions.  I have no idea of what Sale’s red zone conversion rate is, but although they must get into opponents’ red zones and actually score sometimes, they were unable to convert any visit into points, with the ball given up all too readily every time.  Not surprisingly, a Sale tactic was to use the giant de Jager as a principal carrier over the hard yards, but it must have discouraged him to find that every receipt of the ball in the hard places coincided with the arrival of one or more of Tim, Nick or Maro.  Tim, in particular, had a simple technique, perfectly executed: tackle with both arms wrapped round de Jager’s shins, and try not to be under the tree when it falls.  Such abrupt stops of momentum rather highlighted Sale’s season-long problematical record of failure to use the red zone effectively.

As the first half drew towards its close, one could sense a momentum shift.  Sale and Sarries seemed to play the same game, but with slightly different emphasis.  de Jager and the ever-willing Daniel du Preez seemed to prefer to run into people, perhaps it works against other sides, but is meat and drink to Sarries’ stoppers. Meanwhile, Sarries heavy runners seemed to be happy to mix up their choices, with some telling advances by carriers who chose space rather than the bodies on either side of it.  From one advance, a rolling maul took Sarries close, with Ben Earl as tail-gunner in place of Jamie George.  As the maul rolled around, Ben took a blind-side run and burrowed over to take the score to 6-5.  Most unusually, Alex Loz missed his conversion, three out of three unconverted now.  That was the score at half-time.

The second half saw some wider play, ball in hand or with some creative chips and crosses.  One in particular caught the eye, a cross by Eliot, under pressure, that stood up just right for on-rushing Max Malins.  Only some very quick defensive thinking by Sale backs snuffed out the switch; Eliot’s kick had transferred the entire attack from right to left in an instant.  Similar tactics also saw Sale under pressure, with Aled the creator a couple of times and Max almost putting Ben Earl into the corner with smart handling.  However, Sale were beginning to have to chase the game.  A couple of penalties had taken Sarries to 6-11, although a de Klek penalty reeled in that lead, taking the difference back to 2 points, 9-11. 

Sale full-back Luke James was having a good game, and took advantage of defensive lapse, breaking through and chipping ahead, setting up a foot-race to touch down.  However,  the right idea was as difficult as such chips whilst at full pace always are, and the ball meanly took just one roll too many and was dead before he could get to it.

The final scoring act was pure Sarries.  Line-out on the left, quick ball, Malins takes a flying arc run from the left, go through the centres’ defence and passes to Ben Earl, who has perhaps ten paces to take and two defenders in his way.  No pass to his on-shoulder support, just a brutal charge, a bright red bowling ball taking out the white skittles in its path.  That score, converted, gives a less unsettled score of 9-18, with seven minutes to go.  Almost the last gasp is a final penalty by a different du Preez du Preez.  It gives Sale a losing bonus point, a consolation but not the big one, the four-pointer that they so wanted and needed.

MMC sounds pleased: “… a good, hard-fought away win.”

Alex Sanderson, less pleased: “…we didn't take our chances, which you have to do in a game like that.”

Sale: L James; Roebuck, S James, Van Rensburg, Reed; R du Preez, De Klerk; Rodd, Ashman, Schonert; Wiese, De Jager, Ross (capt), B Curry, D du Preez.

Replacements: A van der Merwe, McIntyre, Jones, JP du Preez, Taylor, Quirke, Tuilagi, Metcalf.

Saracens: Daly; Maitland, Lozowski, Tompkins, Malins; Goode, Davies; Mawi, George (capt), Koch; Isiekwe, Swinson, Itoje, Earl, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Woolstencroft, Barrington, Clarey, McFarland, Christie, De Haas, Taylor, Lewington.

Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU).