Nothing, it seems, can stop Saracens right now. After all the excitement surrounding the debut of Sale’s latest rugby league convert, Denny Solomona, this was ultimately about the ruthless efficiency of the reigning domestic and European champions.
A 13th successive win in the European Champions Cup, equalling Munster’s record, beckoned Mark McCall’s men at a bitterly cold AJ Bell Stadium. Typically, they took it. It was not pretty or particularly convincing but it did not need to be to see off a Sale side who had lost 50-3 at the Allianz Park seven days previously.
Nevertheless, this was a day for Steve Diamond’s men to stand their ground, as much as it was for Solomona to make his mark, after the surrender of last week. They did that, despite a sixth successive defeat and, had fortune favoured the hosts and Solomona in particular, they might even have prevailed.
Solomona, who set a Super League record this year with 42 tries for Castleford, played 80 minutes on the right wing. The 23-year-old had a couple of decent opportunities either side of half-time and might have expected to take them.
Diamond, Sale’s director of rugby, could not hide his frustration after having three players sent to the sin‑bin against Saracens for the second week running.
Diamond said: “Denny probably could have taken one or two of those opportunities, but these things happen and I’m sure he will get many more.
“Overall, I thought he did all right defensively. It was a better performance than last week. We were probably in the game with 15 minutes to go but the superiority of the bench that Sarries have compared to ours showed.”
Solomona played union for St Peter’s College in his native Auckland before making his name with Melbourne Storm’s under-20s side and then at London Broncos. His final appearance for Castleford came on 25 September before Sale handed him a three-year deal last week.
The fact that he had two years remaining on his contract with Castleford before “retiring” from league to take up his opportunity at Sale means it has now become a legal battle.
The Super League club issued a statement on Wednesday saying they were set to take legal action against Sale, Solomona and his agent, Andy Clarke, for walking out on the remaining two years of his contract. A storm is brewing but the Sharks certainly had no qualms about throwing Solomona in at the deep end.
Chances were few throughout and Saracens led 6-3 at the end of an evenly contested opening half. In the eighth minute Sale created the first opening of the match when Josh Charnley, who scored 165 tries in 176 appearances during his time with Wigan, showed how quickly he is adapting to the 15-man code. Making only his sixth appearance for Sale, he drove through the heart of the Saracens defence from deep before finding the full-back Mike Haley in support. Haley sought to keep the move flowing but his pass, intended for Solomona on the right flank, flew into touch as the opportunity was spurned.
It was symptomatic of Sale’s attacks.
In the 20th minute, opportunity knocked for Sale and Solomona when ambition got the better of Saracens inside the hosts’ 22-metre line. Brad Barritt’s errant offload through his legs was careless and the ball flew up and into the arms of Solomona, who could only knock when he might have fancied himself to scamper clear. Solomona knew it was a huge chance wasted and he booted the ball hard in frustration as he cursed himself.
In truth, there was precious little inspiration from either side during the first half which ended 6-3 to Saracens. Sale lost the hooker Rob Webber to a yellow card four minutes after the restart before Owen Farrell then uncharacteristically missed two penalties in quick succession but he found his range for another three-pointer after the Sale lock Bryn Evans was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on.
After Solomona failed to take AJ MacGinty’s crossfield kick in his stride in the right corner – a huge chance spurned – Sale then lost TJ Ioane to the sin‑bin in the last 10 minutes after Farrell had escaped punishment for catching Haley with a late hit.
To rub salt into Sale’s wounds, Farrell then went over late on from Will Skelton’s pass and Nathan Earle, the replacement wing, touched down a grubber kick from Alex Goode before Evans crashed over late on for a late home consolation.
There was concern for Saracens when Mako Vunipola limped off in the second half with a knee injury. Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby, is hopeful the England prop’s injury is not serious as he prepares to undergo a scan on his left knee.
Sale Haley; Solomona, James, Leota (Jennings, 70), Charnley (Arscott, 65); MacGinty, Mitchell (Phillips, 55); Harrison (Flynn, 67), Webber (Briggs, 70), Aulika (Parker, 67), Evans, Ostrikov (Mills, 71), Neild (Seymour, 71), Lund (capt), Ioane.
Try Evans. Con MacGinty Pen MacGinty.
Sin-bin Webber, Evans, Ioane.
Saracens Goode; Maitland (Earle, 72), Bosch, Barritt (capt), Wyles; Farrell (Lozowski, 71), Wigglesworth (Spencer, 71); Vunipola (Barrington, 62), Brits (George, 51), Du Plessis (Figallo, 51), Itoje, Kruis, Rhodes (Skelton, 51), Burger (Brown, 71), Wray.
Tries Farrell, Earle. Cons Farrell, Lozowski. Pens Farrell 4.
Referee A Brace (Ireland). Attendance 6,158.
