MATCH REPORT | Saracens Men 10 - 21 Sale Sharks (PREM R2)
Saracens fell short in their first home contest of the season losing out on a bruising encounter with Sale Sharks.
The Original Club of North London weren't able to get a hold of proceedings, with the Sharks able to grind out a win in a gritty contest.
The game didn’t get off to an ideal start, with Sale Sharks opening the scoring inside the first few minutes. Ill discipline cost the hosts early on, leading to Sale being able to set up a platform. Nathan Jibulu was the benefactor, dotting down from the driving maul for an early lead.
A yellow card for Alex Lozowski and a 20 minute red card for Jacques Vermeulen, both for high tackles, kept referee Joe James and TMO Hamish Smales busy as Saracens looked to capitalise on the player advantage.
The hosts thought they had scored halfway through the first period after Nick Tompkins crashed over from short range under the sticks. However, the try was later ruled out for an earlier infringement.
After 15 further minutes of knocking on the door, Sale finally cracked. After a solid scrum gave Sarries a good platform, the power game continued to show as Eroni Mawi crashed over for the first Sarries try of the game. However, the conversion fell just wide of the posts, meaning Sale took a slender two point lead into the break.
Sale started the first half in a similar fashion to the first, scoring early on into proceedings. George Ford's up-and-under was collected by Tom O'Flaherty who slalomed through the Saracens defence to score.
Then the came fell into a cagey rhythm. With both sides struggling to string phases together without unforced errors, however as Sale had the scoreboard on their side, the visitors were happy to allow the game to slow down heading towards the hour mark.
A late score from Charlie Bracken, set-up by brother Jack kept Saracens in the fight late-on. However, it wasn't enough to put Saracens in the driving seat, allowing for Sale to grind out the game and get the win.
Saracens have a chance to redeem themselves soon after though, against Bristol Bears next Saturday at home. Tickets are available now.
