LONDON: Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall is anxiously awaiting the verdict from a tribunal against Mako Vunipola after he was sent off in the final minute of his side’s 37-19 victory over Newcastle on Saturday.
England tighthead Vunipola saw red for a headshot to Falcons hooker Bryan Byrne, who was in the process of being tackled by Nick Isiekwe.
It took some of the shine of the result for Sarries, who returned to winning ways in the English Premiership after successive defeats and remain fifth in the table. “On Mako’s red card, we’ll see because he was part of a double-tackle,” McCall said.
“He came in second, the primary tackler affected the body height of the ball carrier, so we’ll see what the panel have to say in a couple of days’ time.”
Phil Dowson said patience paid off in Northampton’s 21-17 comeback win over Sale as they climbed top of the table.
Saints trailed 14-0 with half an hour to play after tries from Joe Carpenter and Luke Cowan-Dickie appeared to be sending travelling Sharks to top spot.
But scores from George Furbank, Alex Mitchell and a penalty try 10 minutes from time extended Saints’ winning run to six matches, leaving Dowson delighted with his side’s persistence.
“We did some decent stuff in the second half. We drove the pace and got a bit more of our game on the pitch,” the Northampton director of rugby said.
Harlequins beat struggling Gloucester 32-26 at Twickenham to keep them in firm contention for the play-offs.
A crowd of 75,000 watched Quins score five tries, although injuries to Joe Marler and Dino Lamb took some of the shine off their sixth win in 10 league matches.
Gloucester fell to an eighth successive Premiership defeat, equalling their worst ever losing run in the competition. – AFP
