Away win relief for Men in Black
Saracens produced an excellent display to secure their first Guinness Premiership away win since October 2009, with a 30-19 win at relegation-threatened Sale Sharks on Friday night.
The visitors had trailed by 13-16 at the interval after a first half try from Chris Wyles, but scores after the break from fullback Alex Goode and inside centre Brad Barritt secured an important win for Saracens, as they continue to push for a place in the end-of-season play-offs.
Sarries quickly worked themselves into a 6-0 lead after a bright start. An off-side offence and a terrific passage of play that saw the visitors take the ball from their own 22 to the opposition 22 both ended with Springbok Derick Hougaard kicking penalties.
However, the first try of the game came from the home side immediately after the restart following Hougaard's second penalty. A break from England ace Mathew Tait out wide saw him step inside his man and, as the ball was quickly recycled, flanker Sisa Koyamaibole took advantage of the unguarded breakdown to pick up and drive over. Hodgson converted for a 7-6 lead.
Hougaard then had another chance to kick three points but after receiving lengthy treatment from the physiotherapist just before taking the kick, it drifted wide of the posts.
Midway through the half, Sarries scored a try of their own. Quick ball on halfway saw Saxons representative Barritt pick out USA speedster Chris Wyles on the wing with a miss pass that took out the covering defenders and Wyles went clear, stepped inside the last man and scored in the corner, with Hougaard converting.
But from the re-start, Hodgson reduced the arrears with the visitors caught off-side. While taking the kick, Hougaard left the field clutching the back of his head, still suffering from the injury he had picked up minutes earlier.
Before referee Tim Wigglesworth below his whistle for half-time, England stand-off Hodgson had kicked another penalty and a drop-goal to give his side a valuable lead at the break, much to the relief of the home side as they look to stave off the threat of relegation.
Hodgson extended that lead just after the interval with the Men in Black penalised for not rolling away just outside their own 22-metre area.
Goode hit the upright with a penalty before the talented No.15 restored the lead for Saracens with their second try of the evening. Openside Andy Saull made the initial break down the wing before he released Ernst Joubert on his inside.
The Saracens captain - who has been in fine form of late - drew his man before releasing Goode to score under the posts.
He converted his own kick and minutes later the selfsame Goode extended the lead with a penalty goal - his first of the night. Goode had another chance to extend the lead but his attempt from the touchline drifted wide and with ten minutes on the clock, Jackson saw a drop-goal effort from 40 metres strike the crossbar and bounce clear.
But another score was to follow with 10 minutes remaining on the clock. Great defence from the visitors saw them turn the ball over on halfway and Jacques Burger burst clear to the Sale 22. With men both on the outside and inside, he went for the latter and released Barritt to score. Goode added the extras to complete an excellent display.
The scorers:
For Sale Sharks:
Try: Koyamaibole
Con: Hodgson
Pens: Hodgson 4
For Saracens:
Tries: Wyles, Goode, Barritt
Cons: Hougaard, Goode 2
Pens: Hougaard 2, Goode
The teams:
Sale: 15 Marika Vakacegu, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Lee Thomas, 11 Ben Cohen, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth 8 Kristian Ormsby, 7 David Seymour, 6 Sisa Koyamaibole, 5 Dean Schofield (captain), 4 Chris Jones, 3 Jack Forster, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Eifion Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Sean Cox, 20 Carl Fearns, 21 Dwayne Peel, 22 Jonny Kennedy, 23 Dafydd James.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Michael Tagicakibau, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Justin Marshall, 8 Ernst Joubert (captain), 7 Andy Saull, 6 Justin Melck, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Hugh Vyvyan, 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Kas Lealamanua, 18 Richard Skuse, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Jacques Burger, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Glen Jackson, 23 Kameli Ratuvou.
Referee: Tim Wigglesworth