Sale Sharks player ratings vs Saracens | 2026/27 Gallagher PREM

Eight days removed from a frustrating home loss to open the season, Alex Sanderson’s Sale Sharks pulled off the rarest of away wins at the Stone-X to down Saracens 21 – 17.

Built on a foundation of defensive belligerence, the Sharks led by Tom Curry, Joe Marchant and Courtney Lawes battered the Saracens attack. Stunting any really opportunities to get flow into their attack, the Sharks overcame a two man deficit to limit Saracens to just five points at half-time.

Coming out of the blocks quickly in the second half through a moment of magic by Tom O’Flaherty, the visitors had their tails up.

A try by Sione Va’enuku brought the home side back to within a score three minutes later but as had been the case all afternoon, Sanderson’s side responded through Ben Bamber in the 65th minute.

Setting up a grandstand finish in the 72nd minute, the Bracken brothers found space on the previously stingy Sharks fringe defence. Breaking down the right winger Jack Bracken found his older brother Charlie who raced away for the final score of the contest in front of their Rugby World Cup winning father Kyran.

Here is how the Sharks players fared in round two of the Gallagher PREM.

1. Nicky Smith – 7
Got on top in what was a fierce scrum battle during his hour long shift. When his side were under the pump, the loosened got stuck in making 8 tackles including a notable dominant shot.

2. Nathan Jibulu – 9
Clearly an international in the making, the 23-year-old had a right tussle with England squad regular Theo Dan. Pouncing for the opening try on the back of a dominant maul, Jibulu set out his stall early on. Carrying this form over to the defensive side of the ball, the hooker made 13 tackles ferociously chopping down Sarries carriers.

3. Asher Opoku-Fordjour – 8
Another busy outing for the talented young tighthead who by and large got on top of his opposite men at scrum time. Around the park, he was a key feature at the breakdown and made 15 tackles when his side were firmly under the pump.

4. Ernst van Rhyn – 7
Brought an edge to everything he did with a sprinkling of big tackles, a couple of solid line-out grabs and a real presence at maul time. Whilst his 5 carries is not the most eye catching of stat lines, they were crucial in the Sharks’ ability to get over the gain-line in what was a real arm wrestle of a contest.

5. Ben Bamber – 8
Continuing to develop into an all-court lock, the former Rugby League standout ran a sweet line for his try that pulled in the normally defensively astute Nick Tompkins. This line combined with his pace and power gave the Saracens defence no chance to stop him. At line-out time, his 6’9″ frame was a nightmare for Saracens as was his physicality at the breakdown where he won a well earned turnover.

6. Courtney Lawes – 8
The ageless wonder looks every bit the player he was during his pomp. Now 37-years-old, Lawes has maintained his physical prowess with an unlimited well of experience and rugby smarts that could prove crucial to the Sharks and dare we say it England this season. Four 4 line-out grabs, 8 tackles and 2 turnovers whilst being at the coal face for 50 minutes is some showing from the veteran.

7. Tom Curry – 8.5
From one warrior to another, Curry matched the intensity of Lawes and then some. Winning a turnover of his own to go with 21 tackles made, 10 carries, Curry was a thorn in the side of Saracens all afternoon. Away from the quantifiable stats, Curry like Lawes commands the respect of those around him and you could see the Sharks players rally around his big plays.

8. Jacques Vermeulen – 3
Given his marching orders in the 17th minute for what was an avoidable incident will frustrate the South African enforcer.

9. Gus Warr – 8
Marshalled a messy breakdown with authority, the Scottish international took the pressure off his side with an excellent kicking display from the base of the ruck. Nailing 15 kicks, 56 passes and offering a genuine sniping threat around the breakdown, Warr it was unsurprising the Sharks’ coaching staff kept him on for the full 80.

10. George Ford – 7
Another of Sale’s crucial England internationals, Ford once again proved why experience in the pivot is key. Shifting out of first receiver the midfield on defensive sets hid him from the impact of the big Saracens ball carriers. This freed him up to direct traffic when his side couldn’t get their hands on the ball. When the opportunity came to clear his lines, Ford in conjunction with Warr got good distance with each kick forcing Sarries to rebuild from outside the Sale red zone.

11. Arron Reed – 5
Put primarily on kick chase duty, Reed struggled to get into the game in an attacking sense. One kick chase in particular stands out as he forced Elliot Daly to kick the ball dead on the Saracens five meter line. This moment aside, he wasn’t massively prominent.

12. Alex Lozowski – 5
Facing his old side, there was a clear bite from the centre who at one point threw the ball at Fergus Burke in frustration following a knock-on. On balance, it was a solid showing with 15 tackles albeit with 3 more missed but not massively influential.

13. Joe Marchant – 8
In front of the England coach, Marchant put his hand up for a crack in November. Given how unsettled the English midfield has been, the 30-year-olds, 22 tackle defensive masterclass was a real statement of intent.

14. Tom O’Flaherty – 8.5
At times, Saracens simply could not handle the Sharks winger. One moment in particular that showed he was on red hot form was a nothing midfield kick. Chasing what looked to be dud, he ran around two of his players and beat the full Saracens cover defence to score a try inside the opening two minutes of the second half. His 60 meters carried led the way for his side whilst his 4 defenders beaten and line-break were huge in the context of what was a back and forth affair.

15. Joe Carpenter – 7
Exceptionally busy at the back, Carpenter looked threatening whenever Saracens kicked his way. Beating 5 defenders and pulling off a well timed turnover, Carpenter put pressure on the Saracens kick chase and wide support.

Substitutes – 8
Continuing the suffocating performance of the starters, the six replacements that Alex Sanderson called upon brought a serious impact. Among those replacements, Christ Tshiunza was the leading actor with a handful of monstrous carries and won some big time line-outs.