Saracens 15-13 Sale

Saracens (9) 15
Pens: Hougaard 5
Sale (10) 13
Try: Koyamailbole Con: Hodgson Pens: Hodgson 2

Sale wing Ben Cohen (left) and Saracens hooker Schalk Brits

Sale wing Ben Cohen jumps with Saracens hooker Schalk Brits

Fly-half Derick Hougaard kicked all of Saracens' points as they ground out a win over Sale and went six points clear atop the Guinness Premiership.

In filthy conditions at Vicarage Road, Sale's Sisa Koyamailbole was the only try-scorer before the break.

But Hougaard kept Saracens in touch with three penalties, before slotting two more after the restart.

Charlie Hodgson kicked a late penalty to make it 15-13, but Saracens' defence held firm and the visitors were denied.

Hougaard opened the scoring with a penalty with a 35-yard kick after five minutes, but missed a second opportunity a few minutes later.

The visitors, keen to play rugby following last week's abandonment against Wasps, appeared to have touched down through Carlos Nieto following a surge from a line-out.

But, after three minutes of studying replays, video evidence proved inconclusive and the fourth official ruled no try, much to the bemusement of the Italian prop.

Poor handling from Alex Goode saw the full-back knock on with the tryline fast approaching.

And the visitors made the Premiership leaders pay for their mistake on 28 minutes when Charlie Hodgson's cross-kick found winger Ben Cohen, who fed number eight Koyamailbole for five points.

Hodgson added the extras to give Sale a 7-3 lead, slimmed down to a point by a second penalty by Hougaard.

Hodgson and Hougaard exchanged further penalties as Sale took a one-point lead in at the interval.

But former South Africa international Hougaard made the most of his two second-half penalty chances, slotting over both kicks.

Hodgson's 74th-minute penalty set up a frantic finish, but the hosts held on for their ninth win of the season.

Saracens rugby director Brendan Venter:
"In those conditions, Derick was outstanding. He not only kicked his goals but also controlled the game in the important areas.

"Pre-match I told the boys they would be winners tonight because they are a team with enormous character. We have a lot of very talented players and we fought back from going behind.

"There's a long way to go. Our next league game will be the halfway mark but I believe we can win the title, we are good enough as a squad."

Sale rugby director Kingsley Jones:
"They are the best team in the Premiership because they are very strong in all the key areas.

"But we are very disappointed to leave with one point instead of four. That was a game we could have won. The performance was excellent but we let them off the hook through making schoolboy errors.

"We had the plan in difficult conditions and we had the chances. What we do not have yet is the maturity. That comes with experience."

Saracens: Goode, Cato, Ratuvou, Powell, Wyles, Hougaard, Rauluni, Gill, Brits, Nieto, Borthwick, Smith, van Heerden, Saull, Joubert.

Replacements: Penney for Goode (18), Reynecke for Brits (51), Skuse for Nieto (51), Vyvyan for Smith (51), Barrell for Saull (51).

Not Used: Mercey, Baldwin, Barritt.

Sale: MacLeod, Vakacegu, M. Tait, Bishop, Cohen, Hodgson, Wigglesworth, E. Roberts, Briggs, Forster, Schofield, Cox, Fearns, Seymour, Koyamailbole.

Replacements: Halsall for Forster (71), Gaskell for Schofield (31).

Not Used: M. Jones, O'Donnell, Ripol, Leck, Abraham, Styles.

Att: 7,101

Ref: Dave Pearson (RFU).