Sale Sharks v Saracens as it happened - Premiership result as hosts storm visitors to move into second

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George Ford looked ahead to the upcoming Lions squad selection for this summer's tour of Australia, and he's getting his hopes up for a nod. Why shouldn't he after that performance?

He told TNT Sports:  "Who knows? As a player who is part of the England team and has an opportunity to play for England… the Lions is the pinnacle. If you ask anyone, they would die to play on that Tour. But as we know, selection is subjective and it’ll be on the coaches to pick the best possible squad to go to Australia. For the time being, it’s about playing as well as I can for Sale."

Speaking to TNT Sports afterwards, man of the match Aaron Reed said that he and his fellow wide man Tom Roebuck were "dangeorus players", and that the Sale tactics had been to "whack" Saracens up front, and get the ball wide in possession.

"We had a big emphasis on being as physical as we possibly could be," Reed said.

"That showed from the boys, they were absolutely whacking the Sarries lads. Towards the end of the season, all the games are big. We want to push for the play-offs. It’s massive. 

"When the pressure comes on, we seem to perform. We’ve got really good game-drivers who push us at this point of the season, like Fordy. It’s that extra bit of motivation to get it over the line. 

"We’ve put an emphasis on getting the ball out wide and into our hands because we’re dangerous players. In that moment, I thought, ‘You know what, there’s acres of space in front of me, I’m going to call for it." I called for it, and then it all ended up happening. Most of the time, it’s just muscle memory!"

Sale Sharks are up to second in the Gallagher Premiership table after they produced an outstanding performance to dispatch fellow play-off contenders Saracens 25-7 in Salford.

Alex Sanderson's side came into this encounter in hot form in the league, having won away at Harlequins in the last outing, bouncing back from their Champions Cup defeat to Toulouse.

They exploded out of the traps, with Reketi Ma'asi-White bundling over inside the second minute after George Ford broke through to create a dog-leg in the Sarries back line, and he found his inside centre to dot down the opener.

Ford turned scorer with 17 minutes on the watch as Joe Carpenter latched onto a pass from Tom Roebuck, whose excellent pick-up and burst down the right had the Saracens defence at sixes and sevens, and the full-back did excellently to hold play up, ride a couple of challenges, before finding Ford, who busted a gut to support his colleague and touch down.

Fergus Burke missed Sarries' first shot at goal with a wayward penalty, and he was punished by Aaron Reed, who picked the ball up 95 metres out after Ford decided to play out on his own tryline.

The rest was a work of art, with the winger weaving in and out of challenges, sitting Nick Tompkins down twice before giving Elliot Daly the slip as he sped away to score one of the tries of the term and have the hosts a healthy 22 points to the good by the break.

However, Angus Hall notched Saracens' first points of the afternoon as he found space to touch down in the corner after a neat pick-out by Daly, who had been expertly offloaded to by Tompkins as the visitors piled on the pressure.

The affair got cagier in the second half, with just a final penalty adding to the scores, but there was a contentious call that occurred.

The first was Sale's bonus point try being chalked off for an alleged forward pass by Carpenter to replacement Sam Dugdale, who raced through to dot down what he thought would be a season-defining score, but the referee ruled it out, and then realised his mistake when it was too late, instead bringing back play for a scrum to the hosts. Cue despair on the Sale bench and Alex Sanderson's face.

However, it did not affect the result, and Sale fly up the table into second place, honing in on that lucrative play-off spot.

Whether Saracens can pick themselves up again to join them will be a different story.

What a performance from the hosts. It was a display like this that Mark McCall feared, and he was proven right. They're up into second now in the race for the play-offs.

Thanks for joining us, be sure to come back very soon for even more LIVE Gallagher Premiership action.

The scrum results in a penalty for the hosts, and Ford goes for the corner as they look to turn the screw for a final time.

11 handling errors for the visitors as opposed to four for Sale. That's a big difference.

Sarries get to the line as Bracken makes a dive for the line, but has Raffi Quirke held him up? It's not looking conclusive... no try.

Another three on the board for the hosts, who seem to have wrapped this one up.

The moment we've been waiting for, as Andy Christie comes on to replace WIllis.

A swathe of front row subs for Sale, with all three going off for McElroy, McIntyre, and John all coming on.

An outstanding kick from George Ford, but was that a 50-22? It doesn't look like it crossed the halfway line. He is on top form tonight.

... from Willis, who holds up the play and wins the penalty.

They win the penalty, and find the corner. They're looking for a strong drive, with Cowan-Dickie at the heart of the maul.

Referee admits that he's made a mistake, and instead of allowing the score to stand, he's given the scrum instead! That could be huge, since that would've been Sale's bonus point try!

There's a real contentious decision, as Sale see a try chalked off! The referee says that Carpenter's pass is forwards as he looks for Dugdale, who races clear to dot down. What will the TMO say?

Sale make a change too, with Gus Warr replaced by Dugdale.

Sarries make two changes in the pack, with Earl, Carre and Tizard going off, and Hall has also failed his concussion assessment. Mawi is on at prop, Theo Dan and Harvey Beaton are on.

Tom Curry is really leaving his mark this evening, this time on Tompkins off the ball. He's played brilliantly, but he needs to be careful...