Nathan Jibulu produced a high-scoring 9/10 as Sale produced a gritty performance to overcome Saracens
It was a chaotic affair in the first half, as Sale were reduced to 13 men, including a red card, after scoring the first try of the game through Hooker Nathan Jibulu.
Jacques Vermuelen was the recipient of the red following a high tackle on Sarries’ Tomos Williams, where his shoulder went into the scrum-half’s neck.
Saracens thought they had replied in the 22nd minute with the man advantage after Nick Tompkins went under the posts, but he was denied by the TMO after Nick Isiekwe was found obstructing an earlier lineout.
Sale handled the Saracens' pressure with a few big hits through the try scorer Jibulu and recent arrival Courtney Lawes, but it was ultimately not enough after the home side scored off a scrum through Eroni Mawi.
Fly-half Fergus Burke missed the conversion however, meaning Sale headed into half-time with a slender two-point lead.
SARACENS 5-7 SALE SHARKS
There were exchanged blows by both teams in the early parts of the second half, veteran Tom O’Flaherty making it three for the season and young gun Sione Va’eneku scoring on his Prem debut before the clock had hit 50 minutes.
Defence was prevalent as the game went on, Saracens having some huge turnovers on their own 22. This game was looking to be a low-scoring affair, the opposite to what the Prem has seen so far this year.
Sale pushed their way into an even bigger lead after great phase-play rugby was finished off by Ben Bamber, 11 points the good to the visitors with 10 to go.
Saracens weren’t going to go down with a fight, however. A try made by the Bracken brothers, Jack breaking the tackle and sending Charlie through with acres of space lifted the mood inside the StoneX.
Despite the crowd backing, it wouldn’t be for the home side as Sale held their nerve, Gus Warr kicking it into the crowd, jubilation for the away dugout.
After the game, Saracens Head coach Joe Shaw said: “Credit to Sale, they fronted up and had adversity today; we’ll take that on the chin and move on to next week.”
Sale’s director of rugby Alex Sanderson said: “In terms of the physicality and fight, I’m really impressed with the way we handled the first half whilst being down to 13, and at times in the second half.”
Referee: Joe James
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson, Mike Woods
SARACENS: 17
TRIES: 3 (Mawi 33’, Va’eneku 46’, C.Bracken 72’) CONVERSIONS: 1 (Burke 73’) PENALTIES: 0 DROP GOALS: 0 YELLOW CARDS: 0 RED CARDS: 0
SALE SHARKS: 21
TRIES: 3 (Jibulu 6’, O’Flaherty 42’, Bamber 64’) CONVERSIONS: 3 (Ford 7’, 43’, Lozowski 65’) PENALTIES: 0 DROP GOALS: 0 YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Lozowski 12’) RED CARDS: 1 (Vermeulen 18’)
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Nathan Jibulu
Nathan Jibulu was absolutely superb for Sale Sharks and fully deserved his try today. Head coach Alex Sanderson has called on Jibulu to improve his lineout throwing, and today proved he has been putting in the effort; Sale’s lineout were hard to fault today.
Sanderson said: “Him (Jibulu) starting today shows he’s international class; he nailed his lineouts and was a wrecking ball, causing havoc today.
“This could be the year where he’s exposed to the international scene.”
At just 23 years old, this could be one of many man of the match performances that Jibulu will produce, and I’m sure Steve Borthwick and England will be keeping a hard watch on him.
BIGGEST UNDERPERFORMER: Fergus Burke
It wasn’t the finest hour for Saracens’ fly-half Fergus Burke, whose two missed conversions ultimately cost Saracens a couple more points. He had limited chances in attack but didn’t execute them very well, and he will feel and know that he should’ve done better today.
There is no panic for Fergus Burke in regards to his starting position, but as Owen Farrell starts getting fitter and closer to matchday squads, he’ll want to put in a good performance against Bristol next week.
ONE TO WATCH: Sione Va’eneku
It was a superb start to life for new Saracen Sione Va’eneku, who capped off his debut with the North London side with a try.
He had plenty of big crash-ball carries today, and whilst some were dropped or didn’t produce many yards, the fact that he was getting these opportunities is a positive for him in the future.
PLAYER RATINGS:
SARACENS STARTING XV
15. Elliot Daly: 5
14. Jack Bracken: 5
13. Nick Tompkins: 6
12. Sione Va’enuku: 6
11. Rotimi Segun: 5
10. Fergus Burke: 4
9. Tomos Williams: 6
1. Eroni Mawi: 7
2. Theo Dan: 7
3. Marcus Street: 5
4. Maro Itoje (Captain): 6
5. Hugh Tizard: 5
6. Nick Isiekwe: 5
7. Juan Martin Gonzalez: 6
8. Alfie Barbeary: 7
REPLACEMENTS
16. Eoghan Clarke: 6
17. Alex O’Driscoll: 5
18. Alec Clarey: 6
19. George Martin: 6
20. Nathan Michelow: 6
21. Ben Earl: 6
22. Charlie Bracken: 6
23. Max Malins: 5
SALE STARTING XV
15. Joe Carpenter: 6
14. Tom O’Flaherty: 7
13. Joe Marchant: 8
12. Alex Lozowski: 4
11. Arron Reed: 6
10. George Ford: 6
9. Gus Warr: 7
1. Nicky Smith: 6
2. Nathan Jibulu: 9
3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour: 7
4. Ernst Van Rhyn (Captain): 6
5. Ben Bamber: 8
6. Courtney Lawes: 8
7. Tom Curry: 6
8. Jacques Vermeulen: 2
REPLACEMENTS
16. Ethan Cairne: 6
17. Simon McIntyre: 6
18. Tomas Francis: 6
19. Christ Tshiunza: 6
20. Elia Canakaivata: 7
21. Dom Hanson: 6
22. Marius Louw: 6
23. Ponipate Loganimasi: 6
