Rugb union: Sale put to the sword

Saracens 43 Sale 26

THIS WAS not merely a whipping for Sale, it was also one of Saracens' more comfortable margins over the Cheshire club. But it was a patchwork quilt of a game, fashioned from what scraps of decent play that were permitted, with precious little continuity in a penalty strewn match which saw three Sale players in the sin-bin.

Sale were quite exciting when they did get going. Wing Matt Moore scored a superb try, cutting inside two defenders after picking up Shane Howarth's superb little chip into space; but that was effectively their lot until the other end of the match when their other wing, Tom Beim, crossed the line in the 68th minute, and then, in the last few minutes, slack Saracens marking let in two more soft ones.

Saracens' early points came from a penalty try after a string of collapsed scrums. Gavin Johnson converted and stretched further with four penalty kicks before half time.

When Ryan Constable scorched over within two minutes of the restart and Johnson added the conversion, Sale were in need of a miracle. Those were in short supply so they went for the next best option, hard graft.

It at least got them into Saracens 22. The problems arose when they had to take the ball on in hand. At the merest sight of a defender's shadow falling across them they spilled the ball. Contact was not their forte it appeared and Saracens were almost out of sight.

Saracens: Tries Penalty try, Constable, Daniel 2, Singer; Conversions Johnson 3; Penalties Johnson 4. Sale: Tries Moore, Beim, Smith, Machacek; Conversions Howarth 3.

Saracens: G Johnson; M Singer, R Constable, J Thomson (S Ravenscroft, 69), B Daniel; A Penaud, K Bracken (M Powell, 77); R Grau, G Chuter (G Botterman, 65), P Wallace (A Olver, 69), C Yandell (K Chesney, 65), D Grewcock, T Coker, T Diprose (capt), R Hill.

Sale: S Davidson; M Moore (B-J Mather, 65), M Tetlow (J Devereux, 56), C Yates, T Beim; S Howarth (capt), K Ellis (R Smith, 61); P Winstanley, G Dawe (D Geraghty, 51), D Bell (Williamson, 34), D Baldwin, C Murphy, P Angelsea, J Machacek, P Sanderson (S Mills, 73).

Referee: R Goodliffe (Sheffield).