Saracens’ European campaign is back on track. To win this group they will probably still have to beat Clermont in Clermont in the last round of the pool matches and certainly beat Munster and Sale at home in the next two, but by hook or by crook they took a precious away win in one of the various groups of death. Munster struggled to do so at Salford. Indeed, if Clermont take their eye off the ball when they come here in January, Saracens may not need that win in the Massif Central after all.
Sale were pretty much out of contention before things started and are definitely so now, but they fielded a strong side, albeit missing their rested captain, Dan Braid, and might very well have snatched it. “Saracens are a good side,” said Steve Diamond, the Sale director of rugby, who took a turn once as Saracens’. “They push the boundaries of offside quite a lot. There was a bit of inexperience with that referee coming out of the Celtic League [Pro12], not used to the streetwiseness of teams like Saracens. Fair play to them, they came and did a job and got the four points.”
Saracens, coming off a rare run for them of a draw and two defeats, lacked their usual authority, driven over their own line by Sale from an early attacking lineout and conceding a try midway through the second half, having seemingly brought matters under control with a driven lineout of their own shortly after the break. But it was a good hit-out for Mako Vunipola and Owen Farrell as they continue their rehabilitation after injury and a difficult autumn series with England for the latter.
“Owen’s a brilliant young fella,” said Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby, “a brilliant young player. He understands he’s not played a lot of rugby this year. And when Charlie [Hodgson] goes off it’s wonderful to have someone of his calibre to see us home. Owen’s going to get better and better the more he plays. And he’ll play a lot now.”
Saracens did suffer significant disruption in midfield. Farrell started at inside centre because Brad Barritt picked up a calf injury in England’s match the weekend before, which is likely to rule him out for four weeks. Then Hodgson, who was playing masterfully as ever at fly-half, was forced off with a stinger just before half-time. His brilliant 50-metre break had set up Farrell for Saracens’ first try, after quarter of an hour, in a rare moment of inspiration.
But Saracens could never quite shake off the home side, led by the excellent Magnus Lund. He scored their first try and played a key role in the build-up to the second. Then, as the game built to its climax, he was in the thick of it as Sale swarmed towards Saracens’ try line. Diamond bemoaned his team’s composure then, when a spun ball would surely have resulted in a try out wide, but Chris Ashton was able to get in over the ball and force a penalty at the death.
Sale Haley; McLean (Addison 72), Jennings, Tuitupou, Cueto; Cipriani (MacLeod 57), Cusiter (Cliff h-t); Lewis-Roberts (Harrison 58), Jones (Mamukashvili 69), Cobilas, Mills (Fihaki 60), Ostrikov, Easter, Lund (capt), Beaumont
Tries Lund, Ostrikov. Con Cipriani. Pen Cipriani
Saracens Goode; Ashton, Taylor, Farrell, Strettle; Hodgson (Bosch 34), Wigglesworth (De Kock 57; Wigglesworth 76); M Vunipola (Barrington 68), George, Du Plessis (Johnston 57), Kruis, Hargreaves (capt; Hamilton 64), Brown, Burger (Wray 68), B Vunipola
Tries Farrell, B Vunipola. Pens Hodgson, Farrell. Drop goal Farrell
Referee L Hodges (Wales) Att 7,053
