MATCH REACTION | Alex Austerberry (Allianz PWR Rd 15)

Director of Rugby Alex Austerberry was pleased to secure the bonus-point win over Sale Sharks, although he insisted that there was still more to come as his side head into the business end of the season.

After a fast start from Saracens, Sale hit back, posing Austerberry’s side plenty of problems, with the DoR admitting that his side weren’t always successful with implementing their game plan on the day.

“Ultimately, it’s five points. We started the game really well and finished it well but there’s plenty to work on. That middle period of the game, we struggled to find our identity at times, but it’s nice to have everyone back together and start to build the momentum in this run-in for the end of the season.”

Austerberry took the time to praise a Sharks side though who will be perhaps disappointed to have not come away with at least a try bonus-point, as they continually stifled Saracens’ momentum.

“It wasn’t polished and credit to Sale. They were very physical, and their offloading game came to the fore in attack. They caused us problems at lineout as well. Even if you look at the start, we needed a very good defensive set to get us out of our half. We then broke free from a turnover and scored a very good try in the corner through Jess. We established ourselves well with the four tries, but Sale then flicked the switch with that offloading game. We didn’t always make the brightest decisions at times, and they seized momentum. I thought we arrested that well at the end of the first half, but we then gave it away again and put ourselves on the back-foot for a lot of the second half.”

Austerberry was pleased with how his side end the game though, going on to praise Player of the Match Zoe Harrison for her performance.

“I’m really pleased with how we ended the match with the charge-down try, but I wanted to see more of that throughout the game. We’ve still got to remember that Zoe is coming back from a significant injury. So, to have the composure and pose she did, as well as the confidence in some of those big collisions was great. It’s good that she’s finding her feet at times, and she showed some great game management. It was an industrious performance from her out there.”

With three games of the regular season to go, Saracens still have a home semi-final in their own hands. Next up though is a trip to Sandy Park to face third-place Exeter Chiefs and Austerberry is expecting his side to be in for a physical afternoon.

“It’s a real battle for a home semi-final. We want the mentality that we can win wherever we go. It might not be the first time we meet them in the back half of the season. We know it’s going to be a battle, so we’re going to need to up that physicality a bit and make sure we learn our lessons from playing Sale.”

With a semi-final secured, the attentions are now focused on guaranteeing a top two spot. Austerberry praised the StoneX Stadium support and highlighted their importance to his side’s performances on the pitch.

“It’s nice having the reassurance of a semi-final being in the bag, but we want to make sure we’re at home, in front of our fans. Having them here influences us so much as players and staff, so we want to make sure we try and do what we can to make sure we’re running out in front of them at home.”