The context in which Alex Sanderson admits he ‘would just walk’

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall paid tribute to Noah Caluori after the 19-year-old winger claimed another remarkable five-try haul against Sale in a stunning 85-19 win.

Caluori ran in five tries on his first Prem start for Mark McCall’s men in the reverse fixture against Sale last October and he grabbed another handful here in Saracens’ record Prem victory.

Sarries ran in six unanswered first-half tries to lead 38-0 at the break after ruthlessly exposing Sale’s brittle confidence and defensive weaknesses as the hosts slumped to a record Prem defeat.

McCall said: “Noah’s performance including his ability to get us over the gainline, showed what a handful he is with the ball in addition to his finishes.

“A couple of his tries took some finishing and he was very strong aerially too.

“He’s got a strong family who keep him grounded but he’s grounded anyway and a great kid.

“He’s doing well and obviously today’s game blew out a little bit but I think that performance today was one of the better wing performances that I’ve seen in the Prem for a long time and I’ve seen a lot.”

Rotimi Segun opened the scoring and Caluori added a second before Tom Willis, Rhys Carre, Fergus Burke and Caluori again ensured the visitors went in at the break in total control.

Tom O’Flaherty with two and Asher Opoku-Fordjour scored second-half tries for Sale but Saracens added seven more of their own with Caluori claiming three more and Charlie Bracken, Nathan Michelow, Max Malins and Ben Earl all touching down.

Saracens have had a disappointing campaign but this bonus-point win takes them to within nine points of fourth-placed Exeter with five rounds remaining.

The result marked another major setback for Sale, who slumped to their 10th defeat from 13 league games this season and are marooned in seventh place.

Director of rugby Alex Sanderson said: “I’ll take my part in it.

“I am leading this group and clearly I was not able to get the boys motivated enough for what we wanted from the next eight to nine weeks.

“I was not able to push those buttons, ask the right questions or bring the group together because we did not play like a team.

“I think we just turned up today and after a poor start, looked to stick in and survive.

“You are always going to come off a second best against a team going for the top four.

“I didn’t think we were at the races at all from a mentality and physical perspective and that bled through all aspects of our game: set-piece, aerially, gainline. We were well beaten, battered actually.”

Sanderson remains confident he can take the club forward into next season with several new signings including Courtney Lawes set to join Sale in the summer.

Sanderson said: “I’m confident I can take them forward, 100 per cent I can.

“If I felt like I was losing the group then that’s a different question – I would just walk.

“But at the moment internally we’re very tight and we feel like we’ve got the answers moving forward.”