Saracens’ LV hopes Sale Away

Little DG and I decided some time ago to try and visit all the Premiership grounds in England. We do it gently – 1 or 2 new ones each season. We’ve managed quite a few now including some that are no longer in the League (Newcastle & Leeds) but Sale has always been a challenge because the games tend to be played on a Friday night and when you don’t finish work until 5.00pm in London it’s a non starter! So a Sunday lunch-time kick-off seemed a good opportunity to tick another one off the list and being Mothers Day it was also a good opportunity for a bit of mother & daughter bonding (Mr DG being in Saudi and little DG’s sister in Mexico, there weren’t any domestic obstacles in the way). (Well apart from the dog but little DG’s sister’s boyfriend – if you follow me – was imported to dog sit!)

We could hardly have imagined when we booked the trip that we would be setting off in a blizzard! In March! Really, I ask you. The frogs have been going at it hammer and tongs in the pond all week but just when you think it’s spring, winter returns with a vengeance! Anyway we threw just about every ski jacket, coat, hat scarf and glove we could find into the boot and set off for the M6 and Salford. Actually the journey wasn’t too bad and we made it to sunny Manchester (now it’s not often you can say that) in good time.

Salford City Stadium was a pleasant surprise: a nice modern, compact affair with cheap on site car parking, an abundance of loos and comfy red and blue seats. There was also wind protection in the form of clear panels either end of the stadium roof which provided welcome shelter from the bitter wind. I couldn’t help thinking that had the game been at Allianz we would have been even colder! The pitch looked good with plenty of grass on it. The backdrop was one of the snow-capped Pennines, very pretty!  The Sale supporters were all extremely friendly and clearly expecting a thrashing!

I have to admit I was concerned at the team we put out. It did look a bit under-cooked and one had to wonder just how much desire there was to win this. Sale is a team we have always struggled to beat. They won the earlier game between the 2 sides in this competition and although we won the 2 Aviva Games, they were hard fought wins. Ok it may only be the Mickey Mouse Cup but it’s a trophy and winning becomes a habit. Sure the bench looked strong but I would rather we started with a stronger side, built a lead then brought the second string on at half time. Still a young Quins team had got the better of the Bath first team the day before so maybe we could do the same to a team that would have been bottom of the League were it not for the lawyers!

It wasn’t to be a game to remember, at least not for Sarries. It started with an exchange of penalties, first Sale then Sarries. Spencer then put Sarries ahead with a super kick from wide on the right then repeated the feat from an almost identical spot a few minutes later to put Sarries 9-3 ahead. Cipriani got 3 points back for Sale then after some very messy attacking Spencer restored the lead with another penalty. Sarries seemed to have the upper hand but whenever they got into the Sale 22 they seemed to run out of ideas or knock the ball on. Eventually as half time approached, Cipriani put a Sale penalty into touch. It was a dreadful lineout but somehow Tom Holmes claimed the ball and the entire Sarries team stood and watched as he ran to the line and touched the ball down! Cipriani scuffed the conversion and as the half time whistle sounded, Sarries had just a slender 1 point lead.

There wasn’t a lot to be positive about apart from Ben Ransom who made a couple of scything runs, one of them half the length of the pitch. Mordt really doesn’t cut it as a fly half or a captain. His passing was ponderous such that the centres tended to over run the ball and knock on. His kicking was aimless and his leadership was non-existent. In contrast, although far from faultless, Cipriani played flat and his passing was so quick that several times his centres weren’t there! How we missed Borthwick – not just his rugby playing ability and his supremacy at the lineout, but his leadership, his niggling of the referee, his innate knowledge of how to “get” at the opposition. There was none of that. It seemed like we were going through the motions.

Still we’re a second half team aren’t we? Little DG was desperate for some substitutions but as expected, the same 15 players took the field for the second half. The commentator announced that Sale now had the wind behind them but it seemed to me the strong wind was swirling all round – at one stage, 2 of the corner flags were blowing in opposite directions!

Sarries spent the 3^rd quarter in the Sale half but had nothing to show for it. Every time Sale cleared the ball it came back into their own 22 but that was as far as it went. Sarries could not get anywhere near the try line. Cillian Willis, the Sale scrum half, was finally dragged off the field after 2 heavy collisions but he clearly wanted to stay. Meanwhile a number of the Sarries players were glancing at the bench. Finally some movement! Little DG got excited but it was only Jack Wilson coming on for Maddock who had barely touched the ball. George and Joubert combined and Sarries won a kickable penalty but for once Spencer missed. Sale changed their front row while Saull replaced Melck and Hargreaves came on for Botha. Little DG began to get a bit more positive. Finally the management took pity on Du Plessis who had completed over an hour and needed a rest. On came Stevens. So now we had the makings of a team didn’t we? And finally, to warm applause, Hodgson took the field. Immediately the tempo went up, the passing was slicker and flatter but it was almost as if the rest of the team were on another planet and even Hodgson couldn’t engender any spark into the proceedings. Finally, another penalty in front of the posts and this time Spencer didn’t fail so the lead stretched to 4.

Sale at last got into the Sarries half of the field and won a penalty of their own when Short took Brady out in the air. Sale launched an attack which ended in their second try of the game in the right hand corner scored by replacement scrum half Nathan Fowles. Cipriani managed a super conversion and Sale had a 3 point lead 18-15. With 10 minutes left though surely we could overturn that? Sadly we barely got back into the Sale half. Wilson didn’t impress and made a mess of a couple of high balls. Brits came on but it was too little too late. Sale now had the bit between their teeth and as the game entered its closing minutes it was all Sale. They increased their lead when Charlie seemed to catch the general demeanour of the rest of the team and failed to find touch from a penalty (albeit into a strong swirling wind). Sale won a penalty in turn which Cipriani knocked over for a 6 point lead so now it was a try or nothing. And it was nothing. Sale ended the game on the front foot with a couple more penalties. Andy Powell, he of the golf buggy incident, looked particularly dangerous. Sale were delighted with their win as were their supporters. They wanted the final more. Sarries seemed to want a week off.

Little DG was beside herself! Afterall we had made the effort to get to Salford in awful weather when we could have sat at home in front of the TV and it would have been nice if the team had turned up too! She now had the prospect of sitting up half the night to finish her lesson preparation and she felt she really shouldn’t have bothered going. I can see where she was coming from!

It remains to be seen whether or not this was the right move. Quins play the final against a tough Sale side next weekend while presumably Sarries get to put their feet up. As Jacques Burger tweeted “bad luck lads, sometimes all you need is a week off”.  The league game the following week will be interesting. Winning is infectious and if Quins win the LV Cup they may well take that “winning feeling” on to Allianz Park. On the other hand if they loose they may be tired and regret not having a break. How all this pans out over the next couple of months remains to be seen. If we win either the Heineken or the Premiership (or both) then no one will give a dam about a bad day in Salford but if we don’t then we might just rue this missed opportunity to win a bit of silverware. I’ll tell you on 25^th May.

We were sorry to hear that this was Adam Powell’s last appearance for Sarries. Maybe it wasn’t his best game but he gave 100% as he always does. Hopefully he’ll be able to stay injury free and hold down a first team place up in Geordie-land and with a bit of luck we’ll be playing against him once more next season.

Meanwhile it wasn’t an entirely wasted trip. The journey home produced numerous buzzards, a couple of kestrels, a red kite and best of all a peregrine falcon diving towards a field just off the M6.

And so I can go off to Gibraltar next week end without having mixed feelings. I remember when Mr DG and I  booked the trip, looking at the LV final that weekend and saying “no chance”. Seems I was right!

Teams:

Sale

Haley, Brady, Leota, MacLeod, Ingall, Cipriani, Willis (Fowles), Harrison (Dickenson), Taylor (Jones), Thomas (Buckley), mcenzie, Holmes (Ostrikov), Gaskell, Seymour, Powell.

Saracens

Ransom, Short, Wyles, Powell, Maddock (Wilson), Mordt (Hodgson), Spencer (De Kock), Auterac (Saunders), George (Brits), Du Plessis (Stevens), Kruis, Botha (Hargreaves), Melck (Saull), Fenton-Wells, Joubert

Scorers:

Sale:

Tries:  Holmes, Fowles. Conv: Cipriani. Pens: Cipriani (3)

Saracens:

Pens: Spencer (5)

Scores: (Sale first)

3-0 3-3 3-6 3-9 6-9 6-12 11-12 11-15 18-15 21-15

Referee J P Doyle

Attendance: 3,129