After a deeply disappointing opening weekend this was much more like it from Sale’s perspective. Committed and cussed from start to finish, the Sharks ultimately deserved this unexpected success over a Saracens side who seldom made it beyond second gear, even against opponents who were reduced to 13 at one stage in the first quarter.
Tries for Nathan Jibulu, Tom O’Flaherty and Ben Bamber, underpinned by the experience of George Ford and Tom Curry, proved enough to overcome a patchy Saracens, despite the loss of Jacques Vermeulen to a 20-minute red card after just 17 minutes. To compound Sarries’ pain, their England international duo of Theo Dan and Elliot Daly departed prematurely in the second half while Alfie Barbeary lasted only 40 minutes.
The transformation from last season, when Sale leaked 150 points in their two fixtures against Sarries, could scarcely have been more pronounced. It certainly seemed to help the Sharks that the high-flying Noah Caluori was not involved on this occasion, with Sarries often struggling to find consistent rhythm despite the presence of England forwards like Maro Itoje, Ben Earl and George Martin.
A nicely worked try scored by Charlie Bracken following a compelling surge from his brother Jack, did narrow the gap to 21-17 entering the closing stages but the Sharks, motivated and physical, had enough in reserve physically to see the game out and silence a home crowd encouraged by last week’s win at Leicester.
At least it was a lovely sunny afternoon in north London, mellow enough to start pondering what Saracens’ “wine consultant” might have served up had he still be in position. Unfortunately Brendan Venter – or “Brendan Vintner” as he has been dubbed – now goes by the less snappy title of “head of culture and technical director”, with corkscrews no longer required. Speaking to the written media, regardless, is not set to be a regular part of his remit.
Which is a shame on multiple fronts, partly because the former Springbok is good value on numerous topics and, perhaps more pertinently, because English club rugby currently needs all the publicity it can muster. Speaking to TNT Sport before the game Venter even suggested he is not the man in charge of picking the Sarries team, which is a bit like arguing the prime minister is not wholly responsible for his policies. Instead, he says it is a collegiate enterprise which, this week, lasted five hours and involved selecting teams for the season’s first eight weeks. The “wine” analogy sprang from a pre-season theme about the importance of collectively finding the right blend.
Make of that what you like but it is Saracens’ on-field performances that will ultimately do the talking. It took them a long, long time to get going here, so much so that they were kept scoreless until the 33rd minute when Eroni Mawi finally ploughed over from close range. Given Sale had only 13 players on the park for a large chunk of the opening half-hour it did not make for overly gripping entertainment.
To say the first half was messy would be overselling it, particularly given the talent on the pitch. There was even a split second when it seemed Sale might be reduced to 12 but, fortunately for them, an attempted knockdown of a Fergus Burke chip by Courtney Lawes flew backwards rather than forwards with Alex Lozowski and Vermuelen already sidelined.
Saracens, though, spent a lot of time huffing and puffing and had a potential score by Nick Tompkins, converted by Burke, belatedly scrubbed out for obstruction at a preceding lineout. The crowd fell increasingly silent, trying vainly to discern some patterns and consistency in what they were watching, until Mawi’s plunge provided much-needed relief.
The second half, thankfully, was more eventful. After O’Flaherty’s solo intervention, reacting quickest as everyone else waited for a mishit high punt to descend, Saracens badly needed something, having replaced Barbeary, Hugh Tizard and both starting props at half-time. The reshuffle was duly rewarded when Sione Va’enuku made the most of a narrow visiting defence to drag themselves back within a score but this time the Sharks would not be denied.
