Saracens vs Sale Sharks LIVE: Result and reaction from Premiership Rugby final after protesters disrupt game
Saracens 35-25 Sale Sharks: Saracens win their sixth Premiership Rugby title as Sale fail to end a 17-year wait for the trophy
Saracens defied a spirited Sale Sharks, a mini injury crisis and climate activists to clinch the Gallagher Premiership title for a sixth time at Twickenham.
A 35-25 victory over the Sharks made amends for last season’s last-gasp defeat by Leicester at the same stage and delivers their first silverware since being relegated for salary cap breaches in 2020.
Two Just Stop Oil protestors brought a halt to the game in the first half when they ran on to the pitch, letting off orange smoke bombs before being led away by stewards amid jeers from the crowd. Both were arrested and while orange patches were still evident on the pitch at the final whistle, the interruption failed to take the shine off an enthralling climax to the season.
Saracens threatened to pull clear before and after half-time but Sale stayed in the fight and then pounced in a dominant third quarter that saw tries by Tom Roebuck and Bevan Rodd seize the lead. But drawing on all the experience accumulated during 13 years of Premiership and European finals, Saracens showed their resolve to hit back through Elliot Daly and Ivan van Zyl.
Relive the action from the Premiership Rugby final as Saracens beat Sale:
Saracens vs Sale LIVE: Latest updates
Owen Farrell insists Saracens return to the Gallagher Premiership final with more strings to their bow as a result of last year’s Twickenham heartache.
Leicester were crowned champions at Saracens’ expense and although it was a narrow 15-12 defeat, a disappointing performance prompted a tactical rethink that has produced greater emphasis on attack. Now they face the ultimate test of their progress in the winner-takes-all clash with Sale on Saturday.
“It took us a while to figure out how to get the best out of ourselves after last year’s final because we didn’t do that in that game,” Farrell said. “What happened probably allowed us to change a bit more than we usually would after a final. It got us looking at ourselves a bit more than usual.
“Just simply because we were nowhere near our best and we didn’t give the best version of ourselves.
“We want to be good enough to play any way the game demands of us and we feel like we have taken a step forward with that this year. Hopefully that plays a big part in what we have do on Saturday.”
Saracens vs Sale LIVE: Latest updates
George Ford on facing Saracens and Owen Farrell: “A lot of the stuff in rugby comes down to not just one player against another, it comes down to many things. Who has got momentum, who’s got speed of ball, who has got field position, who’s building pressure the most? And then it is about who executes better in those moments.
“Saracens have added variety to their game, everybody knows about that, in terms of the last 12 months, the way they play with the ball. But it comes down to who executes the best under pressure, because both teams are going to try to put each other under pressure. Who can handle that?”
Saracens vs Sale, or Owen Farrell vs George Ford?
George Ford says it is not about individual match-ups ahead of an intriguing Twickenham battle with friend and England colleague Owen Farrell.
“We understand Owen has an unbelievable influence on the Saracens team, but he is one of only 15 men on the field at that particular time,” Sale playmaker Ford said.
“There are threats everywhere, and we are like that ourselves. I am one of only 15 at a time for Sale. I never see it as just a match-up between me and him. There is so much more that goes into a game of rugby.
“Obviously, both of us will want to do our job as well as we can, of course we do, for our team, and that is making as many good decisions and executing as well as we can. He is a great friend, and we understand we are just a cog in a machine of two teams, I suppose, that hopefully have an influence on the game one way or another.”
Saracens vs Sale: Confirmed line-ups
Confirmed line-ups
Saracens XV: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Max Malins, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ivan Van Zyl; 1 Eroni Mawi, 2 Jamie George, 3 Marco Riccioni, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Hugh Tizard, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 7 Ben Earl, 8 Jackson Wray
Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Toby Knight, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Elliot Daly
Sale Sharks XV: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Rob du Preez, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Arron Reed, 10. George Ford, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Simon McIntyre, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Nick Schonert, 4. Jean-Luc du Preez, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Tom Curry, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Jono Ross (C).
Replacements: 16. Ewan Ashman, 17. Bevan Rodd, 18. Coenie Oosthuizen, 19. Josh Beaumont, 20. Tom Ellis, 21. Raffi Quirke, 22. Sam James, 23. Tom O’Flaherty
Saracens vs Sale: Team news
Saracens
Boss Mark McCall also makes one switch after the play-offs, with loosehead prop Eroni Mawi preferred to England international Maku Vunipola, who is among the replacements.
Jackson Wray is at the base of the scrum and will want to go out on a high as he makes his 309th and final Saracens appearance after over a decade of service to the club.
Saracens vs Sale: Team news
Sale
Director of rugby Alex Sanderson has made one enforced change from the side that beat Leicester in the semi-finals, with flanker Sam Dugdale replacing an injured Ben Curry, while No 8 Jono Ross skippers the Sharks on his final appearance before retirement.
It means a Twickenham chance for home-grown northern talent like full-back Joe Carpenter, wing Arron Reed and scrum-half Gus Warr, while the only change on the bench sees former Saracen Tom Ellis named in place of Dan du Preez, who will undergo surgery on a dislocated shoulder.
Saracens vs Sale: When is the Gallagher Premiership final?
Saracens vs Sale Sharks is due to kick-off at 3pm on Saturday May 27th at Twickenham Stadium in London.
How can I watch it?
For the first time, the Premiership final will be broadcast on both terrestrial and pay TV. The game will be shown on ITV 1, with coverage starting at 2.25pm and registered users can also stream the game online with ITVX.
If you prefer, BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Ultimate will also be showing the final and their coverage gets underway an hour before kick-off at 2pm.
Good afternoon
Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of Saracens and vs Sharks in the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham. It’s been 17 years since Sale last lifted the title and the northern powerface face a Saracens side with plenty of recent experience of winning silverware in the final game of England’s domestic rugby season.
Five-time champions Sarahave made Twickenham a second home in recent years - but it’s been four seasons since Sarries lifted their last title after being relegated to the Championship for salary cap breaches.
Sale’s 2006 title win remains the only time they have reached the Premiership Rugby final - but the Sharks have called on the experience of legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to rouse the players this week.
The clash of England team-mates and rival fly-halves Owen Farrell and George Ford will be key to what is set to be an intriguing battle at Twickenham.
Follow updates from the Premiership Rugby final in today’s live blog.
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