Sale Sharks top the table at Christmas, edging Saracens despite Maro Itoje’s efforts

Sale Sharks defeated Saracens 22-20 at the Salford Community Stadium in a replay of last season’s Premiership final.

The Sharks got revenge for the defeat to Saracens in the final thanks to tries from hooker Agustin Creevy, winger Tom Roebuck and replacement hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie as well as seven points from Goerge Ford’s boot.

Saracens remained in touching distance throughout, with scrum-halves Ivan van Zyl and Gareth Simpson dotting down and Owen Farrell racking up ten points off the tee.

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Premiership leaders Sale showed their title credentials as they claimed their 12th home league victory on the spin, defeating the defending champions.

The Sharks notched up three tries in difficult conditions to go clear at the summit after a festive thriller at a packed-out stadium.

There were a number of handling errors early on as both teams sought to get to grips with the swirling wind.

However, Mark McCall’s Sarries, who got the better of Connacht last time out in Europe, were first on the board as Owen Farrell kicked a routine close-range penalty after Sharks lost out at a scrum.

The hosts, beaten 37-28 by Leinster last weekend, responded with some vigour, and in the 18th minute, they bagged themselves a classic pushover try.

Argentinian Creevy barged over following a successful maul, with George Ford’s conversion making it 7-3.

By the time the game entered its second quarter, Sale were starting to hold sway, though a break from either side always looked on the cards.

Saracens withheld some big pressure from the hosts, but with the final action of the first half, they were presented with a gift to send them in at the break ahead.

Van Zyl easily intercepted a shocking Gus Warr pass and darted unopposed to touch down under the posts. Farrell’s boot handed the visitors a 10-7 interval advantage.

However, Sale needed only four minutes of the second period to re-take the lead.The backs shifted the ball wide to Roebuck, and he dived over ahead of an unsuccessful, wind-affected extras attempt by Ford.
This intriguing clash was there for either side to take, and Sale scored again before 50 minutes were up.

Replacement Cowan-Dickie powered over after the hosts won a line-out, with Ford this time successful off a post as his kick stretched the lead to 19-10.

A Sale offside handed Farrell a simple kick to reduce the arrears to six points, but Alex Sanderson’s Sharks stuck at their task and soon got the three points back through Ford.

Saracens looked set to launch a late comeback when Maro Itoje ripped through the defence with a smart dart from the back of the ruck and sent Simpson through with Farrell’s expertly taken conversion, bringing the score back to 22-20, though tension among the home support increased again with still 10 minutes left.

Ford saw a late penalty attempt strike a post, but in the end, that was inconsequential as the near 10,000-strong home crowd went on to celebrate a truly hard-earned victory.

Bristol Bears add to Newcastle’s woes

Bristol made it back-to-back Premiership wins after producing a gritty away display to beat winless Newcastle 21-13 at Kingston Park.
An early try from hooker Harry Thacker preceded Louie Johnson’s penalty in first-half stoppage time to hand the Bears a 7-3 advantage at the break.

Rory Jennings’ superb kick reduced the deficit to a single point, but there was no comeback on the cards despite relentless pressure on a heroic visiting backline.

Virimi Vakatawa ended all home hope with an excellent try, with Gabriel Oghre getting another late on to lift them above Leicester in the table – Kiran McDonald’s late try for the Falcons proving only a minor blemish.
Mateo Carreras and Guy Pepper returned to the starting XV for the hosts following injury lay-offs, while Kyle Sinckler made his 50th appearance for the Bears.

The visitors were handed a golden opportunity to make the perfect start inside two minutes with a penalty, but Callum Sheedy’s kick drifted wide of the post.

Carreras made a crucial intervention in the 10th minute with a last-ditch tackle to stop Rich Lane opening the scoring – the home side standing firm against building Bristol pressure.

But the resistance was finally broken after 17 minutes – Thacker touching down following a maul that moved infield from the left-hand side.
To their credit, the Falcons came into the game towards the end of the half and could have easily levelled the scoreline.

A sustained attack severely tested the visitors’ concentration levels, but – despite more than 20 phases of play – they could only get on the board via a penalty from Johnson in added time.

Jennings was introduced seven minutes after the break and made the perfect impact, kicking a brilliant penalty from 40 metres to give the north-east side hope of their first win of the Premiership season.
The pressure was increasing once again on the Bristolians – the momentum swinging ever more in favour of the Falcons, the crowd volume rising with every tackle and every decision that went their way.
Hugh O’Sullivan and Tom Penny both gained significant ground with lung-busting runs after the hour mark but could not find a way past a stubborn visiting rearguard.

And they were made to pay for their profligacy when Vakatawa powered through to dot down on 69 minutes.

Sheedy added the extras to increase the lead to eight, and the result was beyond doubt four minutes from time when Oghre scored after a maul to deny the hosts the losing bonus point.

A bleak start is turning into a nightmare season for the Falcons – defeat here extends their winless run in the league this season to nine – and a late try from McDonald was scant consolation.

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