Report: Sale Sharks 10-15 Saracens

It might not have been a classic, but Charlie Hodgson's five goals ensured a crucial win at a difficult place to come to, in every sense of the phrase. Sarries showed character to respond from 10-3 down at half time, with twelve unanswered points in a second half they dominated, thus temporarily regaining leadership of the Premiership table.

Hodgson opted for a kick to touch when Sarries won a penalty on the far right but in the phases which followed, Sale conceded a penalty for lying down in the tackle and the former Sale fly half had an easy three points from bang in front in the sixth minute. 

Sale, though, had the territorial advantage and after Sarries had knocked on in their own 22, a few phases later, the visitors were penalized and Danny Cipriani levelled for the Sharks on the quarter hour. The ex-Sale 9 and 10 combination were putting some attacking moves of promise together for the visitors but didn't seem to be making much ground, although the kicking game showed some promise. As the rain began to fall, an infringement at the lineout saw Sarries gain ground before they were pulled back for crossing in a promising position on the right. 

Five minutes before the break, and Sale won possession from a turnover just outside the 22. In the ensuing play, Saracens were punished for not rolling away, Sale kicked to the corner and Marc Jones started and finished the lineout move, burrowing over for a try converted by Cipriani for a 10-3 lead. With time up in the first half, Hodgson fell short with a penalty attempt from far out on the right, not helped by the crosswind.

Into the second half, and the visitors were on the front foot almost immediately, gaining good position as Sale held on illegally. A sweeping move saw Kruis emerge from a pile of bodies in the left corner following a flowing cross-field move, but he was deemed to have been held up, and Sarries failed to profit from the resultant five metre scrum. 

Cipriani was living dangerously, having already seen two kicks charged down, another had Dwayne Peel frantically carrying into touch, as Saracens sustained pressure. An ominous forward push by the visitors in the 51st minute saw Sale infringe and with the wind picking up, Hodgson squeezed the kick just inside the post for 10-6.

Both sides made changes to their front row shortly afterwards, and when Sale again infringed in the tackle, Hodgson made it a one point game at 10-9. Then on the hour, Sarries regained their early lead as James Gaskell's high tackle on Kruis made it 12-10, and with the rain becoming heavier, the game began to be a kick-fest.

With Sale beginning to give away more penalties, Saracens looked relatively comfortable in their slender advantage, but couldn't apply the finishing touch to a promising position in the 71st minute when Sale made a mess of a kick into their 22. However, the hosts could have snatched it late on when Saracens conceded a penalty for lying down in the tackle, but substitute Nick Macleod, on for Cipriani, saw his attempt drift wide. Instead, it was left to Hodgson to settle it two minutes from the end, converting from in front following a Sale offence at the scrum.

Sale: Try: Jones Con: Cipriani Pen: Cipriani. Saracens: Pens: Hodgson 5.

Sale: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Thomas Brady (Arscott 68), 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani (MacLeod 60), 9 Dwayne Peel (Cliff 70), 8 James Gaskell, 7 David Seymour (Easter 60), 6 Dan Braid, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Andrei Ostrikov (Mills 60), 3 Vadim Cobilas (Thomas 50), 2 Marc Jones (T. Taylor 50), 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts (Harrison 50).
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Johnathan Mills, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Tom Arscott.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Duncan Taylor (Tompkins 60), 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle (Wyles 69), 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth (De Kock 51), 8 Jackson Wray (Joubert 60), 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 George Kruis (Botha 69), 4 Steve Borthwick, 3 Matt Stevens (Johnston 51), 2 Jamie George (Brits 51), 1 Mako Vunipola (Barrington 69).
Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Ernst Joubert, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Joel Tomkins, 23 Chris Wyles.

Venue: AJ Bell Stadium
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Stuart Terheege, Paul Dix