Recap - Saracens vs Sale Sharks LIVE | Gallagher Premiership
Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Gallagher Premiership match between Saracens and Sale Sharks at Allianz Park.
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A mixture of youth and experience will take to the field for Saracens. Nineteen-year-old Manu Vunipola returns from England under-20s duty to take his place at fly-half meaning a switch back to full-back for Alex Goode – his first appearance in the 15 jersey since last season’s Gallagher Premiership final.
Speedsters Rotimi Segun and Alex Lewington are named on the wings while captain Brad Barritt and Alex Lozowski make up the midfield.
Tom Whiteley comes in at scrum-half for his first start of the league season and will be behind a pack with four changes from the trip to Sale in the Premiership Rugby Cup last time out.
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Back from international duty with Wales, Rhys Carre takes his place at loosehead and South Africa international Vincent Koch is reinstated at tighthead. Hooker Tom Woolstencroft remains in the front row.
Calum Clark and Jackson Wray are back at openside flanker and No8 respectively, joining Nick Isiekwe in the back row and locks Joel Kpoku and Callum Hunter-Hill continue their partnership for the third match in a row.
TEAM'S UP! ⚫️🔴@RhysCarre returns 🏴@T_whiteley95 first Prem start of the season 👏@bradbarritt back to skipper 🔥
Full team news can be found on the website 👉 https://t.co/3nQJMChzCm pic.twitter.com/JWgHmE9Bj0
— Saracens Rugby Club (@Saracens) February 14, 2020
Meanwhile, Ben Curry will enter the record books this weekend as the 21-year-old becomes the youngest player to make 100 appearances for Sale.
Steve Diamond makes two personnel changes to the Sharks’ matchday-23 he named to face Saracens just eight days ago in the Premiership Cup semi-final, Chris Ashton and Byron McGuigan returning to the back three.
TEAM NEWS | ICYMI – Here are #YourSharks to face @Saracens in the #GallagherPrem tomorrow!
💪 Big @RossHarrisonFR is back in the front row
💯 Apps for @BenCurry98
🐎 The horse @ByronMacG returns form Scotland!#SharkTime | @UKFast pic.twitter.com/PYrAYq3eSU— Sale Sharks 🦈 (@SaleSharksRugby) February 14, 2020
After announcing his retirement plans this week, Rob Webber will make his final trip to Allianz Park as a player and after returning from Wales’ Six Nations camp, Will-Griff John moves back into the starting line up alongside Ross Harrison as the Sharks continue to consistently rotate their front row options throughout the season.
The rest of the forwards remain unchanged for the trip to Allianz Park. Bryn Evans and Jean-Luc du Preez start in the lock, with the formidable partnership of Jono Ross, Curry and last week’s man of the match Daniel du Preez making up the back row.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg talks genes, @SaleSharksRugby and wanting to be rep the @Springboks once again
– with @chrisjonespress 👨💻https://t.co/2ee0j0RhRr
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 13, 2020
Will Cliff continues to demonstrate his electric form at scrum half and partners up with Rob du Preez in the half-back roles.
Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Sam James keep their spots in the midfield while there is a back three of Ashton, McGuigan and Simon Hammersley outside them.
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Comments on RugbyPass
I think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to comments