First-half demolition job sets Saints on their way to seven-try success against Sale

The black, green and gold, who saw several chances go begging in their 24-8 loss at Leicester Tigers six days earlier, were in ruthless mood as they raced into a 40-10 lead at the end of an extraordinary first half.

Saints had been given a helping hand or two by Sale at times, with the away side caught in the 'tumble dryer' their boss Alex Sanderson had warned of in the build-up to the game at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

But Phil Dowson's men were clinical in their execution, taking advantage of every Sale slip while piecing together some typically sublime moves.

It was a fantastic final outing for the club's England stars ahead of their Autumn Nations Series endeavours, which will see them miss the match at Bristol Bears next Friday.

And it was a welcome boost for a Saints side who made it three wins from three at home in the Gallagher Premiership this season.

It hadn't started smoothly on the night for Saints as they fell behind inside just two minutes. Sale batted back their own kick-off and then applied some pressure before the home side were penalised.

Sale opted to go for goal with the penalty, with Rob du Preez slotting it easily.

But Saints hit back almost immediately, kicking a penalty to the corner before Tommy Freeman scored after Joe Carpenter failed to get his hands on a Fin Smith grubber.

Smith missed the conversion and his namesake, Saints hooker Robbie, was stretchered off with a serious-looking injury sustained in the build-up to the try.

It didn't affect Saints' momentum though as the home side soon scored again, this time with Freeman turning provider as he pinballed his way through superbly before offloading for the onrushing George Furbank, who got the ball down.

Smith converted but Sale were soon at the Saints door, kicking a couple of penalties to the corner before eventually driving their way over, with Luke Cowan-Dickie the scorer.

Du Preez added the extras to cut the gap to two points before the clock had even hit 15 minutes.

Saints almost scored a try-of-the-season certainty as Tom James started the move from behind his own try line before the black, green and gold swarmed upfield only for the kick ahead to just bounce dead with Freeman on the hunt.

There was a big flashpoint soon after as Alex Wills took George Hendy out in the air, earning the Sale wing a yellow card with the home fans wanting a red.

Saints soon made the most of their man advantage with a fantastic move that saw fine hands in the middle of the pitch release blood replacement James Ramm, who fired an accurate long pass out to Ollie Sleightholme, who finished with ease.

Smith added an excellent conversion and Saints pounced for a bonus-point score on 24 minutes as Sale lost the ball in contact, opening the door for Ramm to fly forward.

Ramm looked like he may be beaten by the bounce of the ball from his own kick ahead, but he somehow gathered before giving the ball to James for the try.

Smith converted to make it 26-10 and Saints soon went over again as Smith's kick ahead wasn't gathered and Sleightholme picked up the pieces before scoring behind the posts.

Smith added the extras and the Gardens was jubilant, with the joy only increasing when Sale threw a loose pass from close to halfway and Hendy picked up before racing home to score.

Smith converted to make it 40-10, and that was how it stayed at the end of an extraordinary half of rugby.

Sale were straight at Saints after the restart as they won another scrum penalty, kicking to the corner before staying patient to send full-back Carpenter over.

Du Preez added the conversion in neat fashion and Sale looked almost certain to score again soon after as Gus Warr darted for the line, but Henry Pollock somehow held him up.

Saints came close to scoring themselves soon after as Sleightholme latched on to a Smith kick, but Carpenter flew over to bundle the wing into touch with a hat-trick beckoning.

Saints did have their score on 61 minutes though as Furbank handed Ramm the ball, and the Australian found a gap and flew through it to score.

Smith easily converted and the game was now well and truly beyond Sale.

Saints: Furbank (c) (McParland 70); Hendy (Ramm 55), Freeman, Hutchinson (Litchfield 58), Sleightholme; F Smith, James; Iyogun (Haffar 55), R Smith (C Langdon 5), Davison (Millar Mills 55); Thornbury (Hunter-Hill 58), Munga; Scott-Young, Pearson (Kemeny 72), Pollock.

Sale Sharks: Carpenter; Roebuck, Nayacalevu (L James 66), Bedlow (Curtis 47), Willis; R du Preez, Warr (Thomas 60); McIntyre (Onasanya 57), Cowan-Dickie (Thompson 70), Opoku-Fordjour (Harper 57); van Rhyn, Andrews (Dugdale 63); T Curry, B Curry (c), D du Preez (Bamber 57).

Referee: Christophe Ridley