Sale Sharks and Saracens suffer shock defeats
PREMIERSHIP FRIDAY WRAP: London Irish survived a spell with just 12 men to hand Saracens their first Premiership defeat, while Newcastle Falcons completed a thrilling second-half fightback to beat second-placed Sale Sharks.
London Irish ended Saracens’ unbeaten run with a spirited 29-20 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Both sides were reduced to 14 men in the first half with Adam Coleman and Ben Earl sent off for high tackles.
Irish took the lead through Ollie Hassell-Collins after just two minutes and did not trail at all throughout the match with Paddy Jackson firing them into a 19-10 half-time lead after Kapeli Pifeleti scored just before the break.
Saracens closed the gap to just two points almost immediately after the half-time whistle when Sean Maitland capitalised on a loose ball in the backfield.
Jackson’s boot extended the lead back to five points before an Owen Farrell penalty with five minutes left on the clock reduced the gap back to two points to set up a nervy finish – but through Chandler Cunningham-South they extended the lead at the death to seal a memorable win and end Saracens’ winning record in the process.
In the other fixture, Newcastle Falcons ran in 20 unanswered second-half points to pull off a stunning comeback against Sale Sharks at Kingston Park.
Trailing 0-14 at half-time after tries from Ewan Ashman and Tom O’Flaherty, the Falcons were able to turn the game on its head after the break as they ran out 20-14 victors.
Brett Connon got them on the board with a penalty before Mateo Carreras slipped out of two tackles to burst through for their opening try.
Replacement scrum-half Sam Stuart then popped up to score after a powerful rolling maul to make it 17-14 to the home side.
A further Connon penalty pushed the lead to six as the Falcons held out their visitors to complete the unlikely turnaround.
All Friday’s scores and scorers
Newcastle Falcons 20-14 Sale Sharks:
The scorers:
For Newcastle Falcons:
Tries: Carreras, Stuart
Cons: Connon 2
Pens: Connon 2
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Ashman, O’Flaherty
Cons: R Du Preez 2
London Irish 29-20 Saracens:
The scorers:
For London Irish:
Tries: Hassell-Collins, Cunningham-South
Cons: Jackson 2
Pens: Jackson 5
For Saracens 20
Tries: Pifeleti, Maitland
Cons: Farrell 2
Pens: Farrell 2
Source: @PremiershipRugby
