When Noah Caluori first scored five tries against Sale Sharks way back in October, Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall desperately attempted to keep a lid on the expectations around the teenager. 

“Everyone has got to take a breath”, McCall warned. Second time around, McCall was as breathless as everyone else at the CorpAcq Stadium after Caluori scored five tries for the second time against Sale, meaning he has scored a ridiculous 17 tries in nine league games this season. 

“I think that’s one of the better wing performances in the Premiership that I have seen to be honest, for a long time, and I have seen a lot,” McCall said. “We have had Ashy (Chris Ashton), Sean Maitland and David Strettle at the club, but I am not sure I have seen as much from one player in one game, albeit it was a game that blew out.”

The context is that Sale were somewhere between atrocious and abysmal. “Unacceptable” was director of rugby Alex Sanderson’s verdict on their record defeat. Saracens scored 13 tries in every one of their visits to the Sale 22 where it felt defending was an optional extra at best. Three of Caluroi’s tries were virtual walk-ins. The second and the fifth, however, were diving finishes that seemed to defy several laws of physics.

There is simply no wing in the English game - and probably outside of the NRL - who possesses Caluori’s physical gifts. That he ran riot opposite Tom Roebuck, one of the wings stationed above him in England’s pecking order feels significant. His aerial ability, especially, felt like a cheat code for Saracens who could regather their own kicked possession at will.

And yet Caluori, whose name Saracens managed to misspell on his matchday shirt, was running out for Ampthill in the Champ just a few weeks ago. Saracens felt that he was not on it after a campaign away with the England Under-20s. Safe to say, he has rediscovered his fire and now surely a place in England’s senior squad for the Nations Championship beckons. 

“When he scored the tries against Sale the last time, I was telling everyone to give him a chance to breathe,” McCall said. “It is interesting, his performance today was way better than his performance against them last time. His defensive performance because he was asked a few questions in the first half, he came up trumps and made a lot of good decisions, a lot of good contacts.

“What’s going to stop him? He’s a great kid who wants to do well and he will work really hard. The possibilities are so exciting for Saracens but exciting for England as well.”

Scrum half Charlie Bracken was also exceptional while centre Olly Hartley and No 8 Tom Willis provided a continual stream of go-forward. Again, there was very little resistance from Sale and this will bear a long and painful review.

Sale’s season may already be at an end and they have a horrific injury list but the absence of fight and heart was inexcusable, particularly at a point when the club were launching their season-ticket drive. At the very minimum, the CorpAcq should be a horrible place to visit for the opposing teams; the rugby equivalent of your cold Tuesday night at Stoke City.

The inquest will begin in earnest on Monday morning as Sanderson gathers his squad to address what exactly their motivation is and where it has disappeared to. “I thought I was pretty clear at the start of the week around some of the things that were motivating the group,” Sanderson said. “Now I have asked them to come in tomorrow and tell me what’s motivating them individually. Some of those collective motivational drivers weren’t enough.

“I just like to think there’s some more deep-seated motivators for the group, other than just adulation. It certainly wasn’t there today. Those are the answers to the questions I want. I don’t even care if they are selfish. If someone is playing for a summer tour fine, find a way, find something to go after because that’s not acceptable.”

The other tries were amassed by Rotimi Segun, Tom Willis, Rhys Carre, Fergus Burke, Bracken, Nathan Michelow, Max Malins and Ben Earl. Only Tom O’Flaherty, who scored two tries for Sale, offered a semblance of spirit for the home side, who picked the wrong moment to launch their season-ticket drive.

Questions too, will be asked of Sanderson’s future. After qualifying for the play-offs for their past three seasons, the Sharks now appear to be drowning in a sea of mid-table mediocrity. Their recruitment for next season, which includes Courtney Lawes, Joe Marchant and Nicky Smith, has been impressive and Sanderson is adamant he remains the man to take them forward.

“I’m confident I can take them forward, one hundred percent I can,” Sanderson said. “If I felt like I was losing the group then that’s a different question – I would just walk. But at the moment internally we’re very tight and we feel like we’ve got the answers moving forward.”