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Saracens issue warning about a 'new level' Sale don't get credit for
Defending Gallagher Premiership champions Saracens have issued a warning about a facet of play they believe title rivals Sale don’t get enough credit for.
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The second-place Londoners play host to the fourth-place Manchester side this Saturday at the StoneX in the final round of the regular season.
Saracens are looking to clinch a home semi-final while Sale, the team they beat in a thrilling final last year at Twickenham, are looking to book their ticket to the play-offs.
Mark McCall’s team go into the fixture having won their last two versus Bath and Bristol. Sale, though, are also in a run of fine form, winning their last four to grasp hold of the fourth and final play-off spot.
With the Sharks visiting London knowing they need a result to extend their season, McCall is wary about the challenge posed by a rival now coached by Alex Sanderson, his long-term Saracens assistant.
“Sale are a great side,” he insisted. “They are playing really well. I thought they were outstanding on Friday night against Leicester Tigers. They actually played really well, were really slick ball in hand, and not everyone gives them credit for that sometimes but I thought they were very good in that regard.
“They are always good defensively and one of the most difficult teams to play against but there is a lot at stake for us. There is a home semi-final for us to play for and we will be doing everything we can to get that.
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“The team we are playing against were through to the final last year and they have been in this position before themselves, so they have got more experience than they had. They will be backing themselves.
“They have got some really experienced players on their team. Everyone knows who they are and some really bright up-and-coming players are ambitious and competitive. You have got to earn anything that you get and you have got to earn it on that day.
“They were really good last year. That (Twickenham final) was a very, very close match and the matches we have played have been close.
“They beat us at the AJ Bell earlier in the year. As I said earlier, their attacking game is under-estimated. It was pretty good last year but they have taken that to a new level.”
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Despite this, Saracens are optimistic they can do what they need to see off Sale as recent, very different wins over Bath and Bristol are fuelling optimism. “We have always been good at understanding what we need,” continued McCall.
“Sometimes you can win a game and not fill your tank up that much, you’ve been lucky to win it. That has not been the case in the last two weeks.
"Mako was out of shape and had grey hair at 17…"
"We'd a fight… Billy threw a cork and it hit me in the eye."
– An emotional Alex Sanderson pays tribute to Mako and Billy Vunipola, from Liam Heagney ?? #Saracens #GallagherPrem #EnglandRugby pic.twitter.com/sScOciX1U1
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 15, 2024
“We have shown some really strong team qualities and I just want us to build on that, to see that fight and that scrap we have showed in those last two weeks because I know when we get that on a consistent, regular basis during a match that we are good team.
“It’s going to be a game of inches… we have just got to adapt to whatever game unfolds. We played two very different games the last two weeks (15-12 and 41-20 wins at The Rec and Ashton Gate respectively). Who knows what this one is going to be like, it might be somewhere in between.”
