Saracens v Sale Sharks: Five takeaways as ‘freakish’ English prodigy proves ‘the all-round package’ in rampant win
Noah Caluori (right) shone in a five-try display for Saracens, while Tom Willis (left) also made a mark.
Following Saracens’ 65-14 win over Sale Sharks at the StoneX, here are our five key takeaways from the PREM round four clash.
The top line: Saracens run riot with eight-try thumping
Saracens put Sale Sharks to the sword with an emphatic second-half rampage.
Things actually started brightly for Sale, leading 14-5 after 20 minutes, thanks to tries from Bevan Rodd and Rob du Preez sandwiching Juan Martin Gonzalez’s score, but it was simply one-way traffic after that.
An Owen Farrell penalty and a try through eventual Man of the Match Noah Caluori gave the hosts the lead for the first time in the contest, a lead which became eight on the stroke of half-time after Saracens were awarded a penalty try.
That set the tone for the hosts heading into the second-half, as they simply let loose. Seven more tries followed in the final 40, with Caluori adding four more to his tally alongside further scores from Maro Itoje, Fergus Burke and Ben Earl to see Saracens lay an emphatic statement.
What a difference a week makes
Last weekend was a tough one to take for Saracens, especially after their simply rampant win over Bristol Bears, but there was a marked improvement in their display tonight.
This was more of what we’d seen in their previous outings, other than the nightmare at the Stoop. They were utterly breathtaking at times.
Built from clever game-reading and kicking, Saracens bombarded the Sale defence with relentless intensity, and when the dam finally broke, they poured through. It was 22-14 to the hosts at half-time, but by the 50th minute it was 41-14. If that doesn’t tell a tale, then I don’t know what will.
It wasn’t just their attack that impressed either. They could have been excused for getting caught up in the thrills and spills of this game, but there was a proper hunger about their defensive work tonight. Saracens dominated the battle in the breakdown, winning six turnovers to boot, while also having the better of the contact as well.
Their defensive pattern worked a treat too. In years gone by, they would have deployed an aggressive blitz, but tonight they mixed things up. Depending on where the ruck was, they tweaked their system accordingly.
Out wide, with the full width, they went hard on the outside and used that typical blitz, but when it was in midfield, the three players either side of the ruck bolted out the fastest to make that immediate shutdown, suffocating the ball carrier in the process and then allowing them to throw bodies into the impending breakdown. From there, those out wide waited to give reinforcement if needed. It was just a small change, but it worked a treat.
Saracens have already shown a serious step up in every department this year as they look to return to the top four, but this was another improvement on that. Playing like this, they look the real deal.
If you leave me now
To quote Chicago: “If you leave me now, you’ll take away the biggest part of me. Ooh-ooh, no, baby, please don’t go.”
If Saracens let Tom Willis go, they really will see the biggest part of their pack be taken away.
The number eight was yet again at his barnstorming best tonight, in a properly totemic performance. He just effortlessly skittled through Sale Sharks defenders with ease, beating nine defenders and making 58 metres from his 13 carries ball-in-hand and often fighting through the challenges of at least three opposition players in the process.
Around that, his desire to consistently get his hands on the ball and make those hard metres was something to behold, often spawning with the ball again mere moments after his previous carry.
Reports suggest there is strong interest from France and Newcastle Red Bulls to secure his services from next season, but Saracens simply cannot afford to let that happen.
This performance is just one in a long, long, long, long, long list of outright barnstormers since his switch to North London from Bordeaux, quickly establishing himself as one of the league’s premier ball carriers in the process.
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Saracens simply must do everything in their power to keep Tom Willis at the club next season. Literally everything.
EDIT: Shortly after publishing this piece, Saracens have since confirmed Willis’ departure to France. sigh.
Noah’s Ark
There are a lot of extremely talented players pushing through the PREM ranks, but it seems Saracens’ Noah Caluori is emerging as the best of the bunch.
Everything good about Saracens’ game tonight came as a direct result of Caluori’s efforts. His freakish aerial ability was a cornerstone of their game plan today, with Owen Farrell’s pinpoint kicking being plucked out of the stratosphere by the soaring winger, who simply leapt six feet high in the air like he was reaching for something on the top shelf in the kitchen. That in turn got Saracens into the red-zone, and they took their chances with score after score.
Around his obvious aerial abilities, he was simply superb ball-in-hand, too. His try in the first-half was the embodiment of that, as he waltzed through a handful of defenders to race home for a score, but that was just one of several examples of sheer brilliance.
His monumental performance was reflected in his stats too, making 144 metres from 10 carries while notching five linebreaks and beating seven defenders too. Wow.
He looks the all-round package, and will certainly be attracting the interest of Steve Borthwick sooner rather than later.
Test watch
As always, there were lots of players pushing their name for Test selection, timely too, given the Autumn Nations Series is right around the corner.
Willis and Caluori were among several Saracens’ players to impress. Maro Itoje looked as impressive as ever, on a special personal occasion too, while Nick Tompkins also continued his rich vein of form with a tidy display. Juan Martin Gonzalez and Ben Earl added their traditional mix of steel and champagne to proceedings as well, and Fergus Burke also caught the eye.
He might not feature for England in November, but Farrell continues to look impressive back at the StoneX.
Sale’s prop duo, Bevan Rodd and Asher Opoku-Fordjou,r again looked the part.