North Londoners needed a late try to edge past Sale Sharks last Saturday

Ham & High: Mike Rhodes of Saracens (pic: Graham Stuart/PA)Mike Rhodes of Saracens (pic: Graham Stuart/PA) (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Saracens visit Leicester Tigers in the Gallagher Premiership on Sunday and wing Alex Lewington will be among those hoping the north Londoners are not in need of more late heroics to triumph.

A 73rd-minute try from forward Joel Kpoku helped Mark McCall’s men edge past Sale Sharks with a 31-25 success at Allianz Park last weekend.

It was a dramatic end to a game in which Sarries had threatened to blow a 21-6 advantage held midway through the first half.

Lewington was among those to dot down in the opening period for the north Londoners, with Michael Rhodes and Nick Tompkins also crossing the whitewash.

The wing acknowledges Saracens made a good start against Sale and was relieved they ultimately did not let a win slip through their hands.

“We got off to a pretty good start, but then we went through a bit of a rough patch.” Lewington told the club website.

“Credit to the boys, what we’re all about is coming back from that and we were delighted to get the win.”

Saracens suffered something of a shortage of players leading up to the Sale game, with 18 players either absent through injury or on international duty.

The north Londoners were struggling for players so much that Chris Wyles, who stepped away from the professional game at the end of last season, came out of retirement to start on the wing.

Tom Woolstencroft, Joe Gray and Kpoku, meanwhile, were all making their league debuts for Saracens.

And flanker Rhodes believes it was a tremendous effort from all concerned to be able to get the win against Sale.

“A couple of guys were playing in the Premiership for the first time and others hadn’t played that much in it before, so it was a great effort by all of them,” Rhodes told the club website.

“It’s a hell of a thing to come out and get a victory when missing a lot of players, so it’s a great achievement and hopefully it puts us in good stead for the next few weeks.”

Both Rhodes and Lewington look set to keep their places in the starting XV for Saracens this weekend, with the north Londoners still without many of their international stars.

But after showing great fight to hit back and beat Sale, the Allianz Park outfit are sure to fancy their chances of another success away to Leicester on Sunday.