George Ford and Maro Itoje injured as Saracens claim statement win over Sale Sharks

A pair of wins, 80 points in total and a perch at the top of the Premiership table for 24 hours at least. Saracens are settling nicely at the beginning of this new era.

Sale Sharks, hoping to register a second-ever victory at this venue just four months after their first in May, were hampered by early injuries to George Ford and Jean-Luc du Preez. The former, who tweaked his right thigh upon striking a 50-metre penalty attempt, could be a doubt for England’s autumn schedule.

Steve Borthwick missed the fly-half’s composure against New Zealand in July and is due to name his squad on October 16. Ford will be sent for scans on Monday.

Saracens had setbacks as well, skipper Maro Itoje leaving the field gingerly in the opening exchanges of the second period. “He got a bang on a grumbly knee,” Mark McCall explained. “We took him off really quickly to preserve that. He’ll be fine. Whether he plays next week, I’m not sure.”

The hosts pushed on, defying committed opponents to land four second-half tries and a bonus point on the last play. While it is lazy to ignore the attacking verve that Saracens have exhibited over recent years, they seem to be leaning more heavily into ball movement and pace. Speed over the ground is also being used as a weapon in a swarming defence.

They possess a phalanx of athletic back-five forwards and Theo Dan has been starting ahead of Jamie George at hooker. In Tobias Elliott, the 21-year-old wing who scorched over from Alex Lozowski’s pass (watch video below), they appear to have produced an outstanding prospect.

Different leaders are asserting themselves, too – or at least becoming more prominent. Lozowski, now 31, took over kicking duties from Fergus Burke and ended up with a 22-point haul. After slicing through the Sale midfield to set up Elliott off his left hand, he fed an unmarked Elliot Daly off his right at the death.

“He was waiting to emerge as a voice in the squad,” McCall said of Lozowski, who missed most of last season due to reconstructive knee surgery. “I think the responsibility of goal-kicking adds to his game and he was right at it today.”

The departure of Billy Vunipola has left the coast clear for Tom Willis in his second season as a Saracen, though it was Sale, wearing their tangerine change kit, that went 3-0 up. Ford hurt himself in a bid to make it 6-0 and Jean-Luc du Preez then failed a head-injury assessment.

McCall was frustrated by a subdued first half in which Gus Warr scored the only try by supporting a break from Rob du Preez and latching onto Sam Bedlow’s offload.

Alex Sanderson, Sale’s director of rugby, was nursing two fractured ribs due to a training-ground collision with Tom Roebuck and his charges scrapped characteristically hard in a repeat of the 2023 final. The visitors led 13-12 at half-time, despite Sam Dugdale’s yellow card, and were in touch at 25-21 when Luke Cowan-Dickie benefited from a maul on the hour mark.

The Saracens bench, featuring George and Theo McFarland, always looked imposing. It proved decisive. Alex Goode, another replacement, conjured an eye-catching score – and some breathing space – with his first touch. He fended off Roebuck and slipped through a deft grubber for Daly to dive upon (watch video below). George then dotted down at the tail of a lineout drive.

Bedlow, a burly centre, continued to threaten and Tom O’Flaherty bagged a consolation for Sale from Joe Carpenter’s break.

But that only set up a Saracens salvo as Elliott caught Burke’s restart on the run. Dugdale infringed close to the line, picking up his second yellow, and Lozowski’s looping pass to Daly made for maximum points. The conversion brought Saracens to within five of a half-century.

Further change could be close, with McCall expecting Phil Morrow to join up with England’s conditioning department in some capacity.

“For him [Morrow] to be in demand is not a surprise because he’s outstanding at what he does,” said the Saracens boss. “We’re hopeful that an arrangement can be arrived at that suits everybody.

“Phil is a man of great integrity. There have been lots of examples over the years of club coaches going to England. That’s the way it should be.”

If this triumph was anything to go by, Saracens will take any transition in their stride.

Match details

Scorers: 0-3 Ford penalty, 3-3 Lozowski penalty, 3-8 Warr try, 3-10 R du Preez conversion, 6-10 Daly penalty, 9-10 Lozowski penalty, 12-10 Lozowski penalty, 12-13 R du Preez penalty, 15-13 Lozowski penalty, 18-13 Lozowski penalty, 23-13 Elliott try, 25-13 Lozowski conversion, 25-16 R du Preez penalty, 25-21 Cowan-Dickie try, 30-21 Daly try, 35-21 George try, 38-21 Lozowski penalty, 38-26 O’Flaherty try, 43-26 Daly try, 45-26 Lozowski conversion

Saracens: E Daly; T Elliott, A Lozowski, N Tompkins, R Segun (A Goode, 64); F Burke, I van Zyl (C Bracken, 75); R Carré (S Crean, 60), T Dan (J George, 51), M Riccioni (A Clarey, 75), M Itoje (N Isiekwe, 42), H Tizard (T McFarland, 60), A Onyeama-Christie, B Earl, T Willis (T Knight, 75)

Sale Sharks: J Carpenter; T Roebuck, W Nayacalevu (W Addison, 53), R du Preez, T O’Flaherty; G Ford (S Bedlow, 8), G Warr (N Thomas, 65); S McIntyre (T Onasanya, 67), L Cowan-Dickie (E Caine, 70), A Opoku-Fordjour (J Harper, 60), B Bamber, H Andrews (J Beaumont, 42-53, 65), S Dugdale, B Curry (E Caine, 42-53), S Dugdale, J-L du Preez (R Birch, 9)
Yellow cards: Dugdale 37, 80 (red)

Referee: A Woodthorpe

Attendance: 8,660