The experience of the away side proved to be too much for the newly formed Sharks side as Saracens recorded a seven try haul at the Corpacq Stadium.
Saracens began the game showcasing their attacking intent, as Chantelle Miell ran through unchallenged to score in the first two minutes. Zoe Harrison was good for the conversion. Sale looked to answer back quickly, as Carys Hall’s explosive run tore through the away defence and almost saw Nicola Howat drive over the line in the resulting move.
Hall’s showcase of her explosive pace soon resulted in a payoff for the Shark, as the ball worked its way to the debutant, who got the ball down for the home side’s first try of the day. Katy Daley-McLean missed the follow up, but the Sharks had reduced the early deficit to two points after an eventful opening ten minutes of play.
Sale continued to power towards the try line as they looked to used their forwards to drive the ball over. The Sharks showed quick hands to work the ball to Hall again, as she made no mistakes getting over for her second try of the afternoon. This was looking to be a dream debut for the winger, who had well and truly caught the eye of the opposing defence.
Sarries used the same strategy in the 21st minute, as May Campbell crashed over and Harrison was good for the extras again.
Both sides exchanged possession in the following minutes, but it was the away side that got the next score and extended their lead before half-time, with Poppy Cleall grabbing the ball from the scrum and getting over. Harrison added the follow up and Saracens led 10-21 at the break.
Saracens came out of the break looking to put the game out of reach from the Sharks and May Campbell soon got her second try of the afternoon, after her pick and go from the breakdown saw her get the ball over. Harrison made the following kick.
Lotte Clapp put further distance between the sides as she ran through the Sale defence for Saracens’ sixth try of the day in the 55th minute. Harrison was unable to keep her 100% kicking record on the day as she missed the conversion but the away side were really showing their experience in the closing minutes.
A great team move from Saracens saw Harrison record the final score of the game and she converted her own try.
Try scorer Carys Hall gave her thoughts on her debut:
“Last week I missed it, so I knew today was going to be a big one on that wing. It’s amazing to score on my debut and someone at home told me to score for them, which feeds into what Darren said about playing for someone else. Happy to score two on my debut but we know we’re a competitive side and we know we will give a two-time champion a good run for their money and we’re going to take that into our match next week”
Sale Sharks XV:
G.Pyrs , 2. S.Fielding, 3. A. Abu-Marzouq, 4. V.Irwin, 5. N.Howat, 6. L.Winter, 7. H.Field, 8. B.Stafford (C), 9. M.Grieve, 10. K.Daley-Mclean, 11. C.Hall, 12. A.Calton, 13. L.Neumann, 14. H.Birch, 15. J.Wooden
- M.Kelly , 17. K. Houghton, 18. G.Kyle, 19. T. Wyn Davies, 20. G. Perris Redding,
- J. Roberts , 22. D.Hibbert-Jones, 23. S.Cornforth
Saracens XV:
- Chantelle Miell, 14. Georgie Lingham, 13. Sydney Gregson, 12. Holly Aitchison, 11. Lotte Clapp, 10. Zoe Harrison, 9. Jade Knight, 8. Poppy Cleall, 7. Marlie Packer, 6. Georgie Evans, 5. Molly Morrissey, 4. Sonia Green, 3. Kelsey Clifford, 2. May Campbell, 1. Rocky Clark
- Kat Evans, 17. Donna Rose, 18. Laura Kapo, 19. Tamara Taylor, 20. Sarah Bebbington, 21. Eloise Hayward, 22. Cara Wardle, 23. Deborah Fleming
