Saracens rugby director Brendan Venter was delighted with the way his side bounced back from an opening-game loss to beat Sale.
Sarries boss satisfied with 'solid victory' over Sale
Saracens rugby director Brendan Venter was delighted with the way his side bounced back to beat Sale after losing their opening game of the season.
Sarries, who narrowly lost out to Leicester in the Aviva Premiership final last season, were well beaten by London Irish last weekend.
But they responded with a comfortable 28-13 victory over the Sharks on Saturday, with home debutants Richard Wigglesworth, Deon Carstens and David Strettle playing starring roles.
And Venter says Saracens have learned their lesson from the opening-day loss.
"At Twickenham last week, we found out the hard way that you have to produce your very best every week to be successful," he said.
Solid
"Had we managed to win that despite playing poorly, we'd have thought we are better than we are. So I'm very pleased that all the boys gave everything in the heat and came away with a solid victory."
The South African reserved special praise for right wing Noah Cato and Strettle, who came off the bench to score a try in the dying stages of the contest.
He added: "That was Noah Cato's best 40 minutes for the club.
"He was always going to play 40 minutes and then make way for David Strettle who showed again that he has brilliant feet, can catch high balls and finish superbly.
"Sometimes such talented players blow hot and cold, but he gave us a great 40 minutes, chased everything and scored a fine try.
"But then you get guys like Jacques Burger who continues to amaze us week after week with his contributions. He gets up from every hit and just gets on with the game.
Great
"We have some great back-row guys now but it's the way the game is going, you must have a squad you can rotate so you get away from the fact that there is too much rugby, and you won't win anything with a first XV and some support players."
Wigglesworth made Sale pay for their poor discipline by kicking three penalties and Sharks boss Mike Brewer lamented the costly errors.
"We came down to play and to attack Sarries, but we did not get enough ball," he said after the match.
"Our discipline was poor. It's a key thing and it was not good enough. We conceded 20 penalties and you won't beat anyone with that on your back.
"Last week, compared with Sale's discipline last season, we were a lot better.
"But today we just handed them a shoal of penalties. They did nothing we did not expect, but hand a side of their quality a penalty every four minutes and you won't get anywhere.
"We have lots to work on. I was pleased with some areas, not least Paul Williams' great tackle to stop Strettle scoring."
