#Operation Enya


By Behind the Bench
December 5 2014

Hashtags. Don't you just love 'em? The Saturday afternoon clash is being billed as a clash between Danny Cipriani and Owen Farrell, with Sale using the #Cipsforengland hashtag, and Saracens billing the ticket and travel packages north as #OperationEnya. No doubt there'll be plenty to twitter about, with Sale's fly half in his best form since the early years at Wasps, orchestrating some fine team performances, and creating tries with great pieces of individual skill. Despite the comfortable margin of victory over Sale in NW4, the visitors still caused Saracens problems at times.

Sale come into this match having won their last three Aviva Premiership matches, whilst Saracens are in the unusual position of just collecting a draw from their last trio of outings. Presently, Sale are sixth in the table, two places and a solitary point behind Saracens. so, on paper at least, a closely fought contest. The Sharks started the season poorly, with two straight losses, starting with a 29-20 home defeat to Bath, in which both sides scored tries, but the kicking of George Ford proved decisive in claiming victory for the visitors, but thoroughout the game they competed up front, with tries from centre Mark Jennings and no.8 Mark Easter. Then a trip to Gloucester saw a 34-27 reverse in which the visitors led 17-6 at the break, and managed to collect a pair of bonus points. Two fine chips through from Cipriani initiated tries for Tom Arscott and Chris Cusiter, and yet again, the fly half was at the heart of the Sharks' third try as his quick tap penalty set up a move finished by Luke McLean. After the break, they couldn't maintain the same level of control and intensity, as Glos drew level through two penalties and a Jonny May try from a kick through, and progressed to a 34-20 lead, although, fittingly, Cipriani collected his own try, securing two points.
 
Back at home, London Welsh were despatched as Sale once again showed their attacking edge in a 46-8 win, scoring 28 unanswered points after the visitors had pulled it back to 18-8 early in the second half, as the Sharks finished with six tries, including an Arscott hat trick. Next stop was Allianz Park, where Sarries claimed a bonus point 40-19 win. Alex Goode got things underway, whilst Ernst Joubert completed a decisive counter attack for the second, and notably, the third was a penalty try after Sale were pushed off their own scrum in the 22 on the stroke of half time, leaving the score as 30-7 to the hosts. Sale's try had come from a forward surge finished off by former Sarrie David Seymour. Although Saracens went on to claim their fourth try, the Sharks stemmed the flow somewhat, and added two more tries, Tom Brady collecting his own kick and a penalty try being awarded after an offence by the hosts in the maul. Wasps were the next visitors to the North West, and once again Cipriani proved instrumental versus his former club, but iy was Arscott who got the early try, and Cusiter collected the second as he charged down a kick. Although Wasps narrowed the lead to 18-14 in the second half, Brady had the last word at the end of a flowing move. Unfortunately for Sale, another heavy defeat followed at Northampton Saints, 43-10, as they failed to deal with the Saints' forward dominance.
 
That ushered in Sale's return to top flight European rugby, and a daunting home clash with Saracens' fellow semi-finalists from last year, Munster. However, the home side completely controlled the first half, forcing their opponents into mistakes, and more importantly, establishing a 23-7 lead, as Magnus Lund finished off a spell of pressure and Johnny Leota scored after a free-flowing move. However, Munster wrestled advantage in the second half to the extent that they won it 20-3, but still needed a drop goal in the last action of the match to snatch the win. The trip to ASM Clermont Auvergne brought a 35-3 loss, but no disgrace in that. Switching to the LV Cup, a modified side claimed an entertaining 32-29 bonus point home win over Wasps ahead of a 29-13 reverse at Leicester Tigers, where they failed to build on a bright start. Points continued to flow back in the Premiership, as five tries were enjoyed in a 36-8 home win over London Irish, as the rolling maul wreaked havoc, yielding a try for Dan Braid, as well as the first of two penalty tries, whilst Seymour finished off a lineout and Andy Forsyth claimed the fifth. Two tight away wins bring the story up to date. A rare win at Harlequins was claimed, 16-12, as Cipriani set up Braid for the game's only try and claimed the conversion and a trio of penalties, whilst at Newcastle, Sale trailed at the break despite another Braid try at the end of multiple phases. The match was settled fittingly by an excellent try as Cipriani collected his own kick and fed centre Jennings for Jonny Leota to score.
 
So Sale's recent form proves Saracens will need to be at their best to claim a win of any kind, let alone the bonus point many thought was possible when the draw was made. With one of the best kicking games in the Premiership, and Sarries' recent susceptibility to this against Northampton in particular, plus the issues with the scrum seen at Exeter, Sale will be confident that they can cause what would still be seen as an upset. They have shown that they can score well-worked tries from free-flowing attacks, but the win at Harlequins showcased another side of their game, as they successfully withstood the West Londoners' multi-phased pressure. It goes without saying that aimless kicks may not be the best option, given Sale's ability to counter-attack, and indeed, Sarries' own counter attacks may be the best hope of success, as was seen to an extent in the home game. Saracens will note that the Sharks have been in very strong positions against Gloucester and Munster, but lost their dominance markedly, but in recent weeks, Sale have demonstrated a better ability to close out games. In the European competitions, it is generally unusual for a side not to win at least one pool game, the Italian sides being an exception, and despite the calibre of opposition they face in this pool, it is hard to believe a side of their quality would lose all six matches. Hopefully it will be Clermont who will be their victims rather then Saracens.

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#Operation Enya
Discussion started by TheSaracens.com , 05/12/2014 08:25
TheSaracens.com
05/12/2014 08:25
Thanks again Gerard. Match reporter still urgently required!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014:12:14:16:51:00 by Darraghgirl.

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Convex Hull
05/12/2014 08:37
Thank you for the review, and the best wishes to those brave enough to make the trip..

Regardez mon visage. Suis-je bovvered?

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davidthesarrie
05/12/2014 12:39
Great preview. Thank you.

Let's hope the right Sarries team turns up and not the one we have seen for the last couple of weeks.

See you bright and early tomorrow morning for our sailing trip!!

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