Owen Farrell finished an outstanding Charlie Hodgson break in the first half © Getty Images

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Saracens coach Mark McCall was full of praise for Owen Farrell after the Saracens back put in a composed performance at both fly-half and inside centre in the 19-15 victory over Sale.

Farrell has struggled for fitness and form this season and was usurped as England fly-half by George Ford in the course of the November internationals but scored a try and kicked a crucial drop-goal against Sale.

"Owen's great," he said. "He's a brilliant young fella and a brilliant young player. He comes back to the club and he understands that he's not played much rugby this year. With Charlie (Hodgson) off injured, it was wonderful to have someone of Owen's calibre to see us home.

McCall also praised his side's defence after they survived a Sale onslaught in the final ten minutes of the match, with a lead of just four points.

"There was a lot about our performance that was quite good but we know how difficult this place is to come. There was perhaps a bit of anxiousness in the second half and we conceded some scrum penalties in the last 20 minutes, which turned us a lot and gave them a lot of territory and field position.

"We've got to do the business again next week. I thought our defence in the last 20 minutes was pretty heroic. Sale had a lot of energy throughout and there were times where we could have felt sorry for ourselves and we didn't."

Sale Director of Rugby Steve Diamond could find no solace in his side's defeat, despite an impressive performance against one of Europe's top sides. The defeat means Sale are unable to advance in the competition.

"We could have won in the last five minutes and we probably lacked a bit of composure," said Diamond. "We were hammering at their line, getting penalty after penalty and probably in the Premiership they would have got a yellow card, but it wasn't to be.

"They're a good side and they pushed the boundaries of offside quite a lot. There was probably a bit of inexperience from the referee coming out of the Celtic League by not being used to how streetwise teams like Saracens are.

"It's difficult to be pleased with a performance like that in the 'Group of Death' as it's called. We can put up a good show but being close isn't good enough at this moment in time and we should have won the game in our eyes."