The clash between Sale Sharks and Saracens
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Sale Sharks and Saracens have a shared history that goes back a long way.
When they meet at the StoneX Stadium in the final round of Gallagher Premiership Rugby this weekend, a place in The Play-Offs will be on the line for Sharks in a repeat of last year’s final.
For Alex Sanderson, the Sale director of rugby, it will also be a chance to say farewell to two of his former charges, as the Vunipola brothers sign off for Sarries, where Sanderson spent more than a decade as a coach.
Add in the always intriguing battle of the tens between Owen Farrell and George Ford, and the match takes on an even more tantalising feel.
For Sale, a win will seal a place in The Play-Offs, anything less and their season likely draws to a close.
So what do they need to do to conquer the defending champions and match Bath Rugby and Northampton Saints – the two teams to have come away from north London with wins this season?
Sanderson answered: “That’s the million-pound question for any coach. If you try to put it down to one thing, they will get you with another. They have the ability to win the game, like Bath do, in a variety of different ways. If we throw something at them, they will respond.
“They are able to shift the model and the game plan to find a way to be competitive and ultimately dominant if you don’t shift and respond in kind.
“If I were to say anything this week, it’s quite a loose term because how you respond can be quite different, but our ability to respond to lightning bolts that they throw, things we haven’t foreseen that might not go our way.
“If we respond with clarity and calmness and coolness of decision-making, aligned with ruthless physicality, because you have to be ruthless, not reckless that leads to penalties, that will give us the best chance of getting through to the semis.”
Sharks won the reverse fixture just before Christmas, edging home 22-20 at Salford Stadium, a result which kept them top of the league at the time.
A downturn in results followed but 20 points from a possible 20 over their last five games has ensured that Sale have their destiny in their own hands going into Round 18, albeit, facing a daunting prospect to make it.
Their job looks even trickier with the added emotion of a potential final home game for both Mako and Billy Vunipola, two of the key members of Saracens’ success over the past decade.
Sanderson knows both men well, and was a little emotional when reflecting on how far they have come.
He said: “I coached Mako when he was 17.
“I went to the RFU and coached the [England] under-18s. Mako was in that squad and he couldn’t do a backwards roly-poly at the time.
"He was out of shape, he had grey hair at 17 and I thought: ‘He’s lost his passport, surely… he’s not 17.’ But, jeez, could he play rugby.
“His output and his involvement in the game, even back then, when he wasn’t in great condition, showed his ability to read the game, to find the ball and to pop up in areas defensively to have impact on both sides of the ball.
“Then I met Billy. I don’t think of rugby acutely when I think of those two. I remember sitting next to him after the European final we lost against Toulon. He was inconsolable, and it’s things like that that iron you to players.
“Rugby-wise, they’re brilliant players. As men; none better. I’m fortunate to have known them.”
Sanderson knows just how important it is to channel the emotion for departing players. Sale did so successfully in victory over Leicester Tigers last week as Manu Tuilagi and Sam James said their goodbyes.
And after a rollercoaster season where Sale have gone from leading the way to seemingly out of contention, to back in it, Sanderson is relishing this final challenge.
He concluded: “We’ve definitely found form, and have consistency in terms of the playing squad. That helps because cohesion is key.”
