Saracens survive Sale Sharks' scare in 31-25 victory
Nick Tompkins was one of the try-scorer for Saracens
©PA
Saracens 31-25 Sale Sharks, Allianz Park
Scorecard
Saracens maintained their winning streak in the Gallagher Premiership as they edged out Sale Sharks 31-25 at Allianz Park on Saturday.
The win meant the Sarries have maintained their second place in the table with 34 points and are behind top-placed Exeter Chiefs in points difference while Sale Sharks are at 11th place with 10 points.
The Sarries had several players out due to international duty and injury which foreced winger Chris Wyles to come out of retirement.
Sale Sharks got their first points on the board when Robert du Preez kicked a fifth minute penalty but the response from the Premiership champions came when Michael Rhodes crossed over in the 20th minute followed by a conversion from Ben Spencer.
However, Mark McCall's men suffered a setback when Will Skelton was sin-binned for a late tackle in the 25th minute but all Sale Sharks managed in the next 10 minutes was a penalty kick from du Preez. Despite, being down by a player, Saracens managed to score back to back tries.
First it was Nick Tompkins, who offloaded to Alex Lewington and then the centre collected a grubber from Chris Wyles to go over the line himself as Saracens made it 21-6 before Byron McGuigan with his touchdown before the break got the gap down to eight points.
Sale Sharks had the momentum in the second half as debutant du Preez slotted four straight penalties that took the visitors to 21-25 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. But, Joel Kpoku's try with six minutes left in the game eased the pressure on Saracens while Ben Spencer slotted a conversion and a penalty to complete a 31-25 victory.
"We're really chuffed with the character the team showed," said McCall.
"We had a real mix of experienced players who have not played much and younger players who have not played at all.
"Everyone knows how many people aren't here on international duty or injured. For us to produce what we produced and get five points is amazing.
"Having been under huge pressure for the whole of the second-half, we had one chance five metres out and we took it."
