Sale Sharks secured their first win of The Prem campaign with a 21-17 victory over Saracens at the Stone X Stadium, despite playing for 27 minutes of the first half with 13 men after a yellow card and a red card. Jacques Vermeulen was sent off after 20 minutes for a shoulder to Tomos Williams' head, and Alex Lozowski was also sin-binned. Incredibly, Sale led 7-5 at half-time thanks to Nathan Jibulu's early converted try.
Sale stretched their lead after the break as Tom O'Flaherty raced in, and Ben Bamber extended the advantage to 11 points. Saracens hit back through Sione Va'enuku and Charlie Bracken, but the Sharks held on. The victory was built on a huge defensive effort, a marked improvement after shipping 150 points to Saracens in two league games last season.
Saracens' off-field issues continued as director of rugby Brendan Venter clarified his role, which includes culture and technical duties, insisting the wine consultant reference was not a joke but tied to a team theme about blending. The match was a stop-start, physical affair, a contrast to the free-flowing attack seen so far this season.
Источник: BBC Sport · Сводку подготовил HeadlinesBriefing