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Sale defied Jacques Vermeulen’s first-half red card to send him off Saracens 21-17 with Tom O’Flaherty emerging as the star of the slugfest at StoneX Stadium.
Vermeulen received a 20-minute red for a dangerous tackle on Tomos Williams in the first half when Alex Lozowski was in the sin bin for the same offence.
Saracens then took control but it was only temporary and in the 41st minute O’Flaherty produced the key moment of the match by running over a dynamic solo try.
It was part of a dominant second half from Sale, who took advantage of the hosts’ lifeless performance to bounce back from defeat by Bristol on the first weekend with their whore Nathan Jibulu also outstanding.
Referee Joe James and TMO Hamish Smales saw a hectic opening half hour, issuing two bookings and disallowing a Saracens try.
It started so well for Sale when Jibulu finished off a drive, but shortly afterwards center Lozowski was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Alfie Barbeary, who was forced off for a HIA.
Worse was to come when Vermeulen got his orders for a dangerous challenge on Williams Sharks looked at the execution of the attack on the right side.
It meant Saracens were given the chance to play against 13 for three minutes, and Sale’s situation would have worsened if Courtney Lawes hadn’t seen an attempted knock back.
Almost immediately the hosts looked to have taken the lead, but Nick Tompkins’ effort was ruled out by Nick Isiekwe’s obstruction and it wasn’t until Eroni Mawi crossed in the 34th minute that they were off the mark.
Despite the pressure from all Saracens, they still trailed 7-5 a minute into the second half which became 14-5 after O’Flaherty caught George Ford and under who went wide and then weaved through the home defense before sprinting over.
Sale ran out of a striker which allowed Sione Va’enuk to hit back almost immediately, but they continued on the front foot and were frustrated to be penalized on two occasions straight away.
They kept knocking on the door and suddenly changed the tempo with a series of runs adding yards until Ford sent Ben Bamber galloping.
Sale now led 21-10 and Saracens’ dreary afternoon continued when Theo Dunn limped off as his fellow hooker Jamie George looked on from the stands, sidelined with a shame injury.
Charlie Bracken combined with brother Jack to run over with eight minutes to go and the Sharks then let another commanding position slip away due to a penalty close to the line, but they had already done enough to see off Saracens.
