Sale Sharks v Saracens: Five takeaways as George Ford fires Lions reminder in a ‘savage blow’ to Sarries’ title hopes
Sale Sharks' George Ford with an inset of Tom Willis
Following Sale Sharks’ 25-7 win over Saracens in round 15 of the Premiership, here are our five takeaways from the Salford Community Stadium.
The top line
Sale Sharks climbed to second in the Gallagher Premiership with a highly impressive 25-7 home win over play-off rivals Saracens tonight.
Both teams began the game on 44 points and knowing that victory would lift them into second spot before the rest of this weekend’s fixtures.
And a stunning first-half performance laid the platform for Sale as they went 22-7 ahead at the break with tries from Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, George Ford and Arron Reed.
Just three points followed in the second-half, but the victory was no less than Alex Sanderson’s deserved as they continue on their hunt for the Premiership title.
Play-off bound Sharks
The hosts rose to second after a vital win, which has encouraged genuine hopes of finishing the season there and securing a subsequent home semi-final.
Sale’s home record on the outskirts of Salford is formidable, and their first-half display against Saracens was quite remarkable.
Their attacking verve was matched by a physicality in defence which saw them dominate the collisions and restrict Saracens to very few chances.
For Mark McCall’s men, this defeat was a savage blow to their hopes of a top-four finish with three rounds of the season remaining.
George Ford set for Lions?
Ford fired another reminder to Lions coach Andy Farrell as Sale destroyed Saracens in some style.
As British & Irish Lions boss Farrell prepares to name his squad for this summer’s Australia tour, Ford showed off all his silky playmaking skills.
Sale’s master craftsman, 32, helped create a superb second-minute opener for Ma’asi-White and then got on the scoresheet himself in the 17th minute after brilliant work from Joe Carpenter and Tom Roebuck.
And from there, Alex Sanderson’s men did not look back as they edged out their play-off rivals in this huge clash.
Asked afterwards about his chances of making Farrell’s squad, Ford replied: “Who knows? As an England player who has the chance to play for England, if you ask anyone, the Lions is the pinnacle.
“If you ask anyone, they would die to go on that tour and be a part of it.
“As we all know, selection is subjective, and it’s on the coaches to pick the best possible squad to go to Australia.
“We’ll see what that is in the next couple of weeks, but for the time being, I’m focused on playing well for Sale.”
Threat out wide
Scotland winger Arron Reed scored a try of the season contender with an amazing effort during the first half.
Collecting a pass from Ford inside his own 22-metre line, Reed showed remarkable daring and ambition to evade the attention of several Saracens defenders inside the left channel.
Once he got into his stride, the speedy winger could not be stopped, and Ford’s conversion made it 22-0 to Sale.
But do not overlook the performance of England winger Tom Roebuck either. He was brilliant once again and combined superbly with Joe Carpenter for the try which sent Ford clear for Sale’s second.
Reed was named man of the match, but Roebuck was right up there for Sale once again.
Light from the dark
Despite the loss, Tom Willis and Maro Itoje put a bit of polish on what was a pretty dark defeat for the five-time champions.
Willis was an immovable object all night for Mark McCall’s men. His ball-carrying was immense, and he was one of the few visiting players to enhance his reputation. When he was replaced in the second half, even the home supporters rose to acclaim his performance. And with good reason.
Willis’ display will have given the Lions coaching staff plenty to think about as they close in on selection for the squad to head down under this summer.
Despite a sluggish first-half, by his own lofty standards, Itoje grew into the game during the second-half and showed welcome signs of his true self.
To his defence, though, the totemic lock has played a lot of rugby in recent times, but his ability is not up for debate, and he still looks a certainty for the British & Irish Lions squad this summer.
