Tom Willis prepares to end England career as back row agrees move to Bordeaux-Begles

Saracens winger Noah Caluori was the star of the show; the 19-year-old scored five tries on his first PREM start, for which he received the POTM award. Caluori was joined on the scoresheet by teammates Juan Martin Gonzalez, Hugh Tizard, Fergus Burke, Ben Earl, and Sharks' Bevan Rodd and Rob Du Preez. Referee Matthew Carley had a busy evening, handing out a yellow card to Tom O'Flaherty, a 20-minute red card to Luke Cowan-Dickie, and a penalty try to Saracens.

Noah Caluori was spectacular against Sale, completely dominating the airwaves. With comparisons to Israel Folau flooding in Borthwick has selected the 19-year-old for England’s training camp this week in the lead up to the autumn internationals. An astonishing rise for Caluori who was playing for championship side Amptill last week.

Praise flooded in from his own and opposition coaches alike; Sale’s Alex Sanderson said “I don't think it could have gone any better for him, could it? With a score of four (five) tries and a penalty try. Jesus.”

Saracens’ Mike McCall said “we've got quite a special player and he's a great kid as well. And let's just enjoy him and let him grow in the right way” and "Obviously his aerial ability is unique, really.”

Joe Carpenter requires surgery and may be out for a significant amount of time.

Alex Sanderson said “Yeah, poor Joe. He's snapped a couple of ligaments on the front and side of his ankle, which requires an operation”

Carpenter is booked for surgery next week and is expected to miss a large amount of the season in a huge blow for Sale.

Cowan-Dickie may be cited for his high challenge on Saracens’ Tom Willis meaning he could miss England's training camp.

Sanderson said “I want him to play for England, and I don't want him to get back and miss out on the rest of next week in England.” “it will get reviewed. Tom Willis said, you didn't hit me on the head. Luke, can't believe it.”

It did appear that Cowan-Dickie made contact with Willis’ shoulder rather than head on replays and he could consider himself very unlucky to receive any additional ban off the back of the game.

During the game news broke of Tom Willis’ decision to leave the PREM for Bordeaux next season in a move that would take the in-form forward out of England selection.

Mark McCall said “Tom and I had a great conversation in the week. Tom obviously put a lot of thought into it.” “Given the decision that he made. How well did he play tonight for us.”

Willis did play well and he has been for the whole season, in response to whether this decision affects Willis’ selection for the autumn McCall said “That's for someone else to decide, not me.”

Saracens were left reeling after a shock loss to Harliquins last week but they bounced back with fury and style.

Reflecting on the performance McCall said “last week we felt we were a shadow of ourselves, It was a really tough first 25 minutes today. I was really pleased with how we handled a couple of things that went against us.”

Focusing on the aerial battle McCall said “we lost it badly last weekend. The plan that we brought into this game,it gave us a lot today and a great turnaround from last week.”

Saracens looked back at their title contending best. This fixture and scoreline will ring a few alarm bells in the coaching boxes of their rivals.

With the autumn internationals just weeks away every PREM round feels like an audition for those hoping to make Steve Borthwick’s 36 man squad. Young players hoping to announce themselves on the international stage and experienced veterans hoping to hold off challengers for one more season. The round four clash between Saracens and Sale Sharks was a perfect example of this, a great mix of Lions, international captains, centurions, hopefuls, upstarts and rookies.

Six players stood (or jumped) higher than their counterparts.

Noah Caluori announced himself into the international conversation with a stunning five try performance on his first premiership start at just 19 years old. Caluori was nothing short of fantastic, he showed the pace of a sprinter, vertices of an NBA player, and the power of a rugby player.

Saracens built their gameplan around him after a very poor kicking performance against Harlequins in round three. Sale started the game very strongly but when Saracens needed a reply they turned to their 19-year-old winger. Almost every attacking chance Saracens had in the first half came from Caluori beating his man in the air, tapping the ball back or winning a penalty in the Sale half. The Sale back three will be having nightmares about him for weeks.

Caluori is still very young but when he performs like he did on Saturday, Borthwick has little choice but to seriously consider selecting the young winger. Borthwick’s gameplan of box-kicking and kicking to compete to gain territory suits Caluori incredibly well.

Caluori is no one-trick-pony. His finishing ability was also on full display, dancing around defenders in tight spaces and leaving them in his dust when he got a yard of open space.

Borthwick now has quite a nice headache on his hands as he attempts to pick his back three. One thing is for certain, Noah Caluori will be in the conversation.

Bevan Rodd has been on the fringes of England squads since the Eddie Jones era. Asher Opok-Fordjour has just broken through, having toured the US and Argentina with England over the summer. The Sale props have started the season very strongly indeed, they are dominant at scrum time and nimble at the breakdown.

Rodd started the game brilliantly winning a scrum penalty, scoring a try and winning a turnover leading to Sale’s second try. He was arguably Sale’s best player of the first 40 but he was forced to withdraw just minutes after the break with a knock. Rodd has been quietly industrious over the last few seasons but appears to have grown into an international caliber loose-head with a nose for the try-line, no doubt a legacy of his younger years at fly-half. Rodd is certainly in the hunt for places this autumn, if he isn’t selected he will certainly be first reserve.

Asher Opoku-Fordjour, much like his prop-mate, has been quietly brilliant this season, strong at scrum-time and brutally dominant in defence. Opoku-Fordjour is young, raw and incredibly exciting. He is being considered as a long-term replacement for the unflappable Dan Cole. Opoku-Fordjour had a strong first half but as the game ran away from Sale he had fewer and fewer opportunities to impose himself on it. Nonetheless, he is one of the best young props in England and expect to see him in England camps for the autumn and the next decade.

Theo Dan and Luke Cowan-Dickie are the front runners to take Jamie George’s England Hooker shirt. The two men had similar but also contrasting evenings, Cowan-Dickie whilst solid in the first half, received a 20-minute red card just minutes into the second. Although he was attempting to save a try, his technique let him down as his shoulder connected with Tom Willis’ head.

Dan however, entered the fray as Cowan-Dickie was leaving it. Dan’s first contribution was to commit a very similar offence to his positional rival. Dan recovered well from his shaky start, running trademark lines off the back of rucks cutting through Sale’s tired defence.

Some tackling practice is needed in England for the hookers but without being cited expect to see both Cowan-Dickie and Dan running out at the Allianz Stadium this November. Cowan-Dickie is expected to have the starting shirt with Dan flying off the bench much like he did against Sale.

Much of the attention from Saturday night rightly went to Caluori, however another man impressed on his first PREM start, Charlie Bracken. Bracken has turned a few heads in his appearances off the bench so far this season, but Saturday night he announced his presence in the PREM. Bracken delivered a mature performance far beyond his 21 years.

The nine shirt of England is perhaps the most open in the squad, Ben Spencer and Alex Mitchell are certainly front-runners but there is room for a third in the squad. If Bracken backs up Saturday’s performance with a similar one against Mitchell and the Saints he will get his due consideration from Borthwick.