How England rivals fared in Premiership final

When the stakes are high, cohesion and composure win out. Tight-knit, well-coached teams tend to prevail. Even so, one-on-one battles colour these games. With a World Cup around the corner, Steve Borthwick will have been watching these duels.

Owen Farrell v George Ford

Put simply, Farrell’s first half was flawless. He began with a perfectly-weighted spiral bomb that was collected by Max Malins and followed it up a few phases later with a flipped offload to Nick Tompkins. When a neat cut-out pass from Ford did stretch Saracens momentarily, via Manu Tuilagi’s midfield charge, Farrell was there to strip the ball away. Then, in the second quarter, he hit a rare groove.

Farrell sucked in Tuilagi to send Malins to the try-line; a moment that encapsulated his command of the game’s rhythm. After that came a laser-guided touch-finder to turn Sale and turn up the pressure. Alex Sanderson’s side did well to reach the break just seven points behind.

Ford missed twice from the tee, once in each half, yet was prominent in the passages where Sale found momentum and helped them edge into the lead. Zipping around carriers like Tuilagi and Jean-Luc du Preez, he is a fine orchestrator. In the 65th minute, when Ford and Arron Reed bundled Elliot Daly into touch, it seemed as though Sale could get home. But the Saracens skipper would not be denied. There was no shame in being eclipsed by him.

Although his second period was not as imperious, Farrell’s fierce defence – with three more muscular tackles on Robert du Preez, Ford and Joe Carpenter – proved vital. Ford sniffed vulnerability in the final minutes after Saracens had been reduced to 14 men, but Sale could not quite capitalise. Farrell finished up as the victor, avenging defeat to Ford’s Leicester Tigers a year ago, and another winner was Steve Borthwick. He has two experienced, in-form fly-halves to spearhead his World Cup campaign.

Max Malins v Tom Roebuck

Two contrasting right wings both put their stamp on an absorbing decider, with Roebuck signing off from an excellent season by scoring an athletic, opportunistic try. He has some exciting raw materials. Malins, however, was inspired. On his last appearance as a Saracen before moving to Bristol Bears, where he expects to spend more time at full-back, he reminded everyone of his class.

Assured in the air, he sliced Sale to score in the first half and then again, from a Tompkins tip-on, to set up Ivan van Zyl’s crucial finish. Between those moments, Malins was collared off the ball for a penalty try. His poise and sense of timing is special. A couple of tough interventions caught the eye too, notably when he read Ford’s pass and jammed in off his flank to halt Sam James. The 26-year-old gave a hugely influential, all-round display. Borthwick has food for thought.

Ben Earl v Tom Curry

While not quite a positional head-to-head, with Sale promoting Sam Dugdalde and keeping Curry at blindside flanker following his brother’s hamstring injury, this was a significant battle. Earl has been exceptional for Saracens over the last two seasons without quite imposing himself on the very biggest games. Because of that, it has been difficult to argue that he should start Test matches for England.

Here, Earl strived to spoil the breakdown without getting much more reward. A needless offside penalty will have frustrated him. That said, he produced an invaluable jackal turnover in the 63rd minute with Sale 25-23 ahead. Prior to that, his pace off the base of the scrum had allowed Saracens to impart width and manipulate the opposition back-field for their first-half penalty try.

Curry could have few complaints with his yellow card for that early tackle on Malins. When he returned from the sin bin, though, there was a response – notwithstanding a spill on his own five-metre line and an inability to cut off Malins on first phase before Van Zyl went over. Clearly asked to occupy the wide channels as Sale attacked, Curry used his power to great effect and grew more prominent. Whether wearing 6,7 or 20, one senses that he will be part of England’s front-line squad for the World Cup. Earl may have to conjure a storming performance in a warm-up game to force the issue.

Maro Itoje v Jonny Hill

Like the flankers picked out for this piece, Itoje and Hill could combine for England as they have done in the past. On opposing teams here, they will have led their respective teams’ line-out strategies.

Saracens enjoyed the upper hand in that facet. Their maul eked out metres and Itoje’s leadership must have been reassuring for Theo Dan, because the rookie hooker did not miss a beat when Jamie George was replaced. On Sale’s throw, Saracens made timely steals, with Itoje mugging Jono Ross in a game-defining moment as the final quarter began.

Hill scrummaged behind Sale’s loosehead props and his heft contributed to some fruitful set-piece shoves. By Opta’s first count, he and Itoje, who recovered from early handling errors, managed 15 tackles each. They both conceded penalties, but ended in credit