Sale overcame Jacques Vermeulen's red card to defeat Saracens 21-17 and pick up their first win of The Prem campaign. Sarries struggled to break down a stubborn Sharks defence despite having numerical superiority for 27 minutes of the first half after Alex Lozowski's yellow and Vermeulen's 20-minute red card.
Incredibly, Sale took a 7-5 lead into half-time thanks to Nathan Jibulu's early converted try, despite Eroni Mawi's reply, and then went further ahead soon after the break as Tom O'Flaherty raced in. Ben Bamber stretched Sale's lead to 11 points after Sione Va'enuku had cut the gap, and though Charlie Bracken's late score again put the game in the balance, the hosts held on.
After shipping 150 points to Saracens in two Prem hammerings last season, Sale's victory at the Stone X was built on a huge defensive effort. The visitors were soon down to 13 as former Sarrie Lozowski was yellow-carded for a high shot on Barbeary before Vermeulen was red-carded for a shoulder into Tomos Williams' head.
Saracens responded with three changes at half-time, including a debut for England lock George Martin, but Sale maintained their defensive grit to secure the win. The match was also notable for Brendan Venter's pre-game comments, where he explained the team's "wine" theme aimed at getting the "blend right."
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing