Sale Sharks v Saracens Report

It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Ahead of this weekend’s London and Manchester marathons, it feels only right to title this report “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” That phrase perfectly sums up the nature of the regular season these days—especially this lengthy 2024–25 campaign, which began all the way back in September and won’t conclude until the final day of May. Tonight, however, that marathon feel to the season seemed to come back and bite us. We were comprehensively outmuscled, outclassed, and outsmarted (a rarity for us) by a clinical Sale team. To be honest, the whole squad looked rather flat and unmotivated before the game in the warmup. Tom Willis was seemingly one of the few who looked genuinely fired up and ready to go. We have a poor record in Friday night fixtures—just 3 wins from the last 9—and we always seem to struggle at the AJ Bell. I believe our last win there came back in 2021. Combine that with a lengthy injury list and poor game management... Even taking 1 or 2 points from this match would’ve been a result—let alone a win.

First Half

On to the action. I barely had time to open my beer before Sale drew first blood. With possession inside the Saracens 22 just one minute in, they executed a slick phase-play move. An inside line from Aaron Reed outfoxed Maro Itoje, who was sold on the wrong dummy, allowing Sale to break through. Excellent handling from Reed and George Ford led to Rekeiti Ma'asi-White crashing over, despite Ben Earl’s best efforts.

In the buildup, Itoje had given Tom Curry a shoulder nudge, which prompted a retaliatory shove and a bit of handbag stuff. The boxing bell sound effect played around the stadium made me chuckle. Sadly, that was the last time I laughed for the rest of the game.

One man who deserved a mention—and would’ve been my Saracens Man of the Match—was Tom Willis. He made one of his trademark carries off a lineout turnover in our own 22, bouncing Aaron Reed, then beating both Gus Warr and George Ford on the outside, before finally being stopped on the Sale 10-metre line by two forwards. The ball went loose and chaos followed, ending in a Sale penalty that Ford calmly slotted. 8–0 Sale after just 10 minutes—and it only got worse.

Sale broke down the right wing, and in a move straight out of the Saracens playbook, Roebuck and then Reed managed offloads in contact to an onrushing George Ford, who dotted down under the posts. 15–0.

Saracens were awarded a penalty after Tom Curry’s off-the-ball tackle, but Fergus Burke’s patchy goal-kicking (67% success rate I believe, according to the commentators) continued to haunt us—he missed a fairly routine attempt and we were stuck on 0.

Curry went off for an HIA on 24 minutes, and though Saracens were attacking inside the Sale 22, we turned the ball over. Sale quickly countered, and the ball found its way to Aaron Reed on the wing. With blistering pace and strength, he burned Nick Tompkins, powered through Angus Hall’s tackle, and outpaced Elliot Daly to score untouched. One of the tries of the season. 22–0.

Mark McCall looked visibly concerned from the coaching box. Our scrum was under siege, with Bevan Rodd, Opoku-Fordjour, and LCD dominant. The breakdown was a mess—Curry was everywhere—and our attack suffered from slow service via Ivan van Zyl.

Eventually, we gained some territory in the Sale 22. Van Zyl regathered a high ball, and after a Sale penalty, we set up a 5-metre lineout. From the drive, the ball went to Elliot Daly and then to Angus Hall, who raced into the corner to score. Burke nailed the conversion. 22–7—slightly more respectable than a big fat zero, but still miles to go.

Just before halftime, Daly produced a brilliant 50:22 kick, but he hadn’t realised the clock had gone red. That ended the half and killed any momentum we’d built. Just another frustrating mental lapse. Halftime: 22–7. A serious reset was needed.

Second Half

It was clear McCall was unhappy—he responded with numerous changes: Theo Dan, Harvey Beaton, Eroni Mawi, JMG, and big Theo McFarland all came on. Theo Dan made an immediate impact with several strong carries and line breaks.

An excellent Alex Goode kick pinned Sale back, and Van Zyl followed up with a huge challenge on Gus Warr, then tackled him again on the floor (though arguably illegal) he somehow avoided a penalty. Earl stole the ball and we earned a 5-metre lineout. But after a few phases, Ben Earl was isolated and turned over by Tom Curry as Mawi couldn't get to the ruck fast enough. Sale cleared their lines—phew for them.

Theo McFarland was doing his usual aerial magic, taking spectacular catches, one of which led to promising attacking territory. But again, we failed to convert.

Alex Goode came on for Angus Hall, who failed an HIA. Another costly injury, especially with the mandatory stand-down period looming.

Then came a controversial moment—Sale thought they’d scored again, but Christophe Ridley judged that Tom Roebuck had knocked on after a challenge from Josh Carpenter. Replays showed it was actually Nick Isiekwe’s arm that dislodged the ball. That could have secured the 4-try bonus point for Sale.

Still, no worries for the home fans. Their massive pack earned another scrum penalty, Ford kicked to the corner, but Tom Willis made a crucial turnover. Sale threatened again but couldn’t convert. Willis was subbed for Andy Onyeama-Christie after a huge shift.

A penalty against Andy O-C for coming in from the side gave Ford another opportunity—this time from 20 yards out, dead centre. He split the posts. 25–7, and it was starting to look desperately bleak for us.

Charlie Bracken thought he’d scored on 71 minutes after sustained pressure, but the on-field call was "held up," and there was insufficient evidence to overturn it. That was the last real chance we had to add points.

Sale closed out the game with total control, suffocating any momentum we had—doing a “Saracens to Saracens,” you might say.

Final score: Sale Sharks 25 – 7 Saracens
Congratulations to Alex Sanderson and his Sharks team—deserved winners. I have no doubt they’ll be involved in the playoffs come June.

As for us… well, it’s hard to know where we go from here. The obvious answer is: win all remaining matches with at least one four-try bonus point. Easier said than done. Saints away won’t be easy, and whether Bath field a full-strength team or not may depend on whether they’ve already secured a home semi-final. Things could get very close in the table that’s for sure.

Still, as the old adage goes: you can only play what’s in front of you. 4 match points to Sale and 0 for us. Not a nice way to start the weekend.

Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, R Du Preez, Ma'asi-White, Reed; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Bamber, Andrews, Van Rhyn, T Curry, JL Du Preez

Replacements: McIlroy, McIntyre, John, Beaumont, D Du Preez, Dugdale, Quirke, O'Flaherty

Saracens: Daly; Hall, Tompkins, Hartley, Segun; Burke, Van Zyl; Carre, George, Clarey, Itoje, Tizard, Isiekwe, Earl, Willis

Replacements: Dan, Mawi, Beaton, McFarland, Onyeama-Christie, Gonzalez, Bracken, Goode

Referee: Christophe Ridley.

Photo credits to David W Loxham of the Saracens Supporters Association. Thank you.