Even Billy can’t stop the Sharks as they show teeth
GOOD NEWS for Saracens and for England coach Eddie Jones: Billy Vunipola is back, not yet fully match fit after almost three months out with another broken limb, but causing havoc again.
The 26-year-old No.8 was making his first appearance since fracturing his left forearm during a Champions Cup win at Glasgow on October 14.
He opened the scoring and went on to play the full 80 minutes, but this was very much Sale’s night as they registered a third straight Premiership win and only their second over Sarries in eight years.
Not much has gone right for the Sharks since their memorable 2006 Premiership final win over Leicester at Twickenham.
But this hard-earned victory, chiselled by aggression and two delightful first-half tries, was rapturously received by Steve Diamond.
“We’ve beaten the best team in the country and you have to bully them into it sometimes,” DoR Diamond said with a mischievous smile, a reference to last week’s stormy win at Gloucester which saw him confront a journalist who labelled him a bully.
“But we’ve been playing well and I embrace the challenge of playing in this competition. I think ‘can we turn them over?’ and with the players we’ve got, believing in what we’re doing, we’re doing all right.”
Saracens counterpart Mark McCall said of his returning star forward: “Billy did quite well but we just got the fundamentals wrong tonight.”
In the seventh minute, Vunipola opened the scoring when he collected a pass from Alex Goode and evaded four Sale defenders to touch down in the left corner.
Sale responded with two tries in five minutes midway through the first half. First centre Sam James broke from midfield and found Denny Solomona on the right flank before gratefully receiving the winger’s inside pass to scamper clear.
It got even better for Sale five minutes later when scrum-half Faf de Klerk, who beavered away frenziedly all night, seized possession from a lineout.
His deft pass found James who had the presence of mind to return the favour to Solomona racing clear on a diagonal run inside the right channel from around 50 metres out.
A yellow card for Owen Farrell following a high shot on his England teammate Chris Ashton in the 35th minute added to the belief that it could be the hosts’ night.
Tempers flared as the hour approached, with Saracens’ lock George Kruis and Sale captain, Jono Ross, squaring up in a spat which also involved Richard Wigglesworth, the former Sharks man.
Saracens’ replacement hooker Christopher Tolofua became the second visiting player to be sent to the sinbin when he caught Arron Reed off the ball.
After dissent from Farrell saw him concede a penalty moments later, Du Preez’s boot finished off Saracens amid scenes of mounting euphoria before Nick Tompkins’ last-minute consolation try.