Elliot Daly scores twice as Saracens run rampant against injury-stricken Sale

Two games into the season and two wins for a new-look Saracens team entering a new era. The hosts took a while to get going but a notable contribution from centre Alex Lozowski, who kicked 22 points and supplied a brilliant try assist for his speedy young winger Tobias Elliot, ultimately took the men in black clear of a Sharks side undermined by injuries.

It proved to be a distinctly frustrating day for England’s George Ford who lasted fewer than seven minutes before being forced off with an apparent thigh injury, while Sarries’ new captain, Maro Itoje, limped off just after half-time and could be seen pressing a bag of ice to his knee in the dugout. His departure did not obviously affect the outcome, though, as Sarries rammed home 33 second-half points.

Sale had been hoping for a repeat of last June’s Premiership semi-final when they shocked Sarries on their own pitch and brought Owen Farrell’s Saracens career to an abrupt end. A home reaction this time was always likely and two last-quarter tries from Elliot Daly topped off an increasingly dominant effort to secure a late try bonus point.

The visiting director of rugby, Alex Sanderson, once part of the Saracens family, believes club rugby needs to be more attractive to the casual viewer than the Sharks’ opening game against Harlequins and, for a long time, this was no fast-paced dazzler either. It was a lovely bright day in north London, perfect for moving the ball, but territory was the priority for both sides until the game opened up in the final half-hour.

Sale, clad in eye-catching tangerine, will look back and wonder if this was ever destined to be their day. Losing one key player in the first few minutes is unfortunate, to lose two was seriously disruptive. The influential Ford appeared to tweak something at the top of his right thigh attempting a long-range penalty while Jean-Luc du Preez, such a physical force, took a heavy blow to the head that forced him off after just 10 minutes.

His brother Rob stepped in for Ford at fly-half but his first act, a kick to the corner that sailed dead, was not particularly auspicious. The Sharks, though, were initially the livelier side and were rewarded with the first try. Daly lost the ball on the right touchline and good, direct running from Rob du Preez and then Sam Bedlow ended with Gus Warr scampering under the posts.

All Saracens could manage in the first half were four penalties from Lozowski and Daly and despite a yellow card for the busy Sam Dugdale it was Sale who went in ahead 13-12 at the break courtesy of three points from Rob du Preez with the interval looming.

There was one nice little elusive run from their new fly-half Fergus Burke and a couple of darts from the ever-improving Rotimi Segun but perhaps the most interesting duel was in the front-row where the up-and-coming Asher Opoku-Fordjour acquitted himself well opposite the heavier Rhys Carre.

There are only so many big players a team can lose, however, until the cracks start to show. Ben Curry and the towering Hyron Andrews had to leave the field for HIAs and with Dugdale still off the field, the reserve hooker, Ethan Caine, had to be deployed in the back-row as an emergency measure.

In all the comings and goings two more nicely chipped penalties from Lozowski made it 18-13 before the game’s champagne moment arrived. Lozowski, having made a clean midfield break, threw a sumptuous long ball that gave Elliott just enough extra time and space to beat Tom O’Flaherty and dive into the right corner.

It was the signal for Sarries to crank things up, with Daly and England’s captain, Jamie George, adding an extra gloss to the scoreline and Dugdale receiving a second late yellow card to compound the Sharks’ woes.