THEY may not call it revenge, but this was a cathartic victory for Sale Sharks, after Saracens had pinched their forwards coach, Steve Diamond, and seven players at the end of last season.
Philippe Saint-André, the director of rugby, insisted that it was merely another game and it duly brought a third win in three matches for his new side, ending Saracens’ unbeaten record. Two finely crafted tries in the first four minutes from Mark Cueto, the wing, gave Sale a lead that they never relinquished.
Sale raced out of the blocks. For Cueto’s first try, after just 35 seconds, he timed his leap perfectly to pluck Charlie Hodgson’s hanging cross-kick out of the air and scamper over on the right from 20 metres. Three minutes later he popped up on the opposite wing to take a scoring pass from Steve Hanley after slick handling from the Sale backs.
After a quiet first quarter, the Saracens forwards began to assert themselves, but Kevin Yates, one of the deserters, was sent to the sin-bin after reacquainting himself with Dean Schofield in unfriendly fashion.
Sale reached half-time with a 16-6 lead but endured an anxious second half as quality ball became increasingly rare. Nicky Little added three further penalties but Saracens were unable to turn possession into points. “We didn’t take our chances, so we didn’t deserve to win,” Rod Kafer, the Saracens coach, said. “There was a lapse of concentration in the first five minutes, then we didn’t execute well enough at key times.”
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Saint-André said that he was disappointed with his side’s performance but Hodgson, with a dropped goal and late penalty, ensured that he was satisfied with the result.
SCORERS: Sale Sharks: Tries: Cueto (1min, 4). Penalty goals: Hodgson 4 (20, 35, 66, 80+3). Dropped goal: Hodgson (72). Saracens: Penalty goals: Little 4 (40, 44, 69, 76). Dropped goal: Bartholomeusz (19).
SCORING SEQUENCE (Sale first): 5-0, 10-0, 10-3, 13-3, 16-3, 16-6 (half-time), 16-9, 19-9, 19-12, 22-12, 22-15, 25-15.
SALE SHARKS: J Robinson (rep: V Going, 79); M Cueto, C Rhys Jones, R Todd (sin-bin, 23-34), S Hanley; C Hodgson, S Martens (rep: B Redpath, 45); A Sheridan, S Bruno, B Stewart (rep: S Turner, 61), D Schofield (rep: C Day, 41), J White (rep: P Anglesea, 71), C Jones (rep: A Titterrell, 61), M Lund, S Chabal.
SARACENS: R Kydd; R Haughton, B Johnston, K Sorrell, D Scarbrough; M Bartholomeusz (rep: N Little, 29), K Bracken (rep: M Williams, 80); K Yates (sin-bin, 12-23), M Cairns (rep: R Ibanez, 66), C Visagie (rep: N Lloyd, 75), S Raiwalui (rep: K Chesney, 60), I Fullarton, T Randell, R Hill (rep: D Seymour, 66), H Vyvyan.
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Referee: A Spreadbury. Sale