They are fond of using the phrase “Northern Rugby Matters” in this part of the world and Alex Sanderson and his Sale Sharks players made a compelling case for that strapline here. After half an hour a bumper home crowd at the Salford City Stadium had been subdued into silence by a masterful display from the league leaders.
However, what looked like a procession to the finish line – and a guaranteed home semi-final – for Saracens was, in the end, anything but. For all Sale’s disciplinary problems in recent weeks, being reduced to 13 men in each of their last two defeats, it was fitting that it was a yellow card for the opposition here which swung this thoroughly entertaining contest in their favour.
Before the moment when Alex Goode receive a yellow card for blocking a Tom O’Flaherty kick, Saracens were well and truly in control and the scoreboard showed it, with the visitors opening up a deserved 16-0 lead. By the time Goode had returned, Sale had clawed it back to 19-14 and from there, the hosts never let slip the momentum which had come their way with that Goode sin-binning.
They were much the stronger of the two sides thereafter and were worthy winners, inflicting only a third defeat of the season on Sarries and denying the leaders the opportunity to book a home semi-final here. They will do that in the weeks ahead but on this evidence so will Sale, who are now only six points behind them at the top but, more importantly, 13 points clear of third-placed Leicester.
“I’m a happy man; I’ll have a bottle of Malbec responsibly tonight,” Sanderson said with a smile after watching his side defeat his former employers. “We needed that, we needed that belief.” For half an hour Saracens were near-faultless. Two penalties from Goode underlined their early superiority before Goode and Alex Lozowski combined to free Alex Lewington in the corner.
Seven minutes later a rolling maul was finished by the hooker, Theo Dan, and at that stage, it was difficult to argue with Saracens’ 16-0 lead. Sale, and the big crowd in attendance, had been silenced: but they collectively came alive as half-time approached. “We were saying from the sidelines that we hadn’t fired a shot but from that moment, we started firing,” Sanderson said.
Goode was adjudged to have blocked O’Flaherty and within seconds of him receiving a yellow card, Sale shifted the ball wide, exposed the space and Joe Carpenter touched down. It was, as Mark McCall conceded post-match, a momentum-shifting moment. Manu Vunipola offered brief respite with a penalty but on the stroke of half-time there was another decisive moment as O’Flaherty’s break from deep was finished by Sam James. There was a suspicion the final ball was forward but it was not ruled out and suddenly the Sharks trailed by only five points.
London Irish made it back-to-back away league wins for the first time in three years as they beat Newcastle Falcons 34-19 in an entertaining Premiership clash at Kingston Park.
The away side were dominant for the first 30 minutes, with Josh Basham, Tom Pearson and Danilo Fischetti all scoring tries. The hosts hit back through Matthew Dalton and Jamie Blamire before the break – the latter following a lengthy TMO review – to trail 19-14 at half-time
Carl Fearns levelled the scores with a catch and drive 10 minutes into the second half, but the Exiles regrouped with Matt Cornish finishing a flowing move before Ollie Hassell-Collins [pictured] went over for his 10th try of the season to secure a bonus point win.
Goode returned shortly after the restart but the momentum was now well and truly with Sale. Only a stunning tackle from Lozowski denied O’Flaherty a brilliant solo try but it mattered little as, three minutes later, the hosts moved ahead for the first time when Rob du Preez sent Carpenter across for his second try. Jono Ross then scored their fourth to secure not only a bonus point but a monumental step towards a priceless victory.
There were brief moments in response from Saracens, headlined by Kapeli Pifeleti’s try as the game entered the final 15 minutes. But three minutes later Robin Hislop made contact with Carpenter’s head and was dismissed.
Sale then had the wherewithal to close things out with a man advantage, even taking the losing bonus point away from Sarries in the final seconds when Jean-Luc du Preez crashed over.
“That 10-minute spell after Goode’s yellow, they upped the tempo during that period and nothing went right for us after that,” McCall, lamented. “We hung in there, we showed a lot of fight but they’re a very good side, particularly at home.”
The odds on these two meeting when it matters most in May appear to be shortening by the week and this result could heighten that outcome further once again.
