Saints finally banish their Sale away-day demons with superb PREM showing

The black, green and gold had not won a league match at Sale since way back in March 2017, but they sent their travelling supporters home happy with a barnstorming display.

Saints had to weather a storm in cold and windy conditions as Sale recovered from a 14-0 deficit to lead the game on a couple of occasions.

But the black, green and gold showcased their substance and their style as they finished the game in flying fashion, taking it away from their hosts and ending their long wait for a victory at Sale.

The players were serenaded by the away fans on the terrace after the game as everyone of a Saints persuasion soaked up a special occasion that ensured Northampton remains the name at the top of the Gallagher PREM ahead of the league's break from action.

Saints had gone to Sale eager to finish a tough block of games on a high, with no more PREM matches scheduled until close to the end of March.

But they knew they would face a tough task against a Sale side who had targeted the league fixture in a bid to reignite their top-four hopes.

It was Saints who made the better start to the match though, showing real desire as they carried with force into the Sale 22.

Josh Kemeny threatened to repeat the slaloming score he got against Sale in December, but after he was stopped, Saints kept probing, with Alex Mitchell sending a nice pass to Tommy Freeman, who dived over in delight.

Anthony Belleau added the extras and the travelling support made their voices heard, as they did again soon after as Saints continued to work the Sale defence before a pass was timed perfectly for Rory Hutchinson to notch his team's second try of the match.

Belleau converted brilliantly from the touchline and Saints were all over Sale, but they couldn't continue to make their chances count as first they conceded a breakdown penalty on the home line and then a Hutchinson pass didn't quite go to hand for Freeman with the line in sight.

Saints were made to pay for those missed chances as a couple of cheap penalty concessions allowed Sale to pile on the pressure and Raffi Quirke picked up from a ruck to dart over under the posts.

George Ford easily added the extras and Saints' hard work in the opening 20 minutes was in danger of being undone.

After Saints tried to play their way out inside their own 22, a forward pass gave Sale a scrum on the edge of the 22, but the away pack did their job, winning a penalty from a Sharks put-in to relieve the pressure.

Saints were soon on the attack and after Kemeny cut inside from the left, Tom Curry looked to have made head on head contact with the Saints flanker, earning the Sharks No.8 a yellow card.

Saints tried to take immediate advantage of their extra man but Sale quickly claimed a penalty to put a stop to another promising position for the black, green and gold.

The away side had lost their early vigour and were now finding it much tougher to make their way through the blue wall.

With the clock having ticked into the red, Saints merely needed to claim the ball on their own scrum inside their own half and boot the ball out to end the half, but they kept playing, allowing Reketi Ma'asi-White to win Sale a breakdown penalty.

Mitchell was punished for dissent, with Saints being marched back, making Ford's job easier as he slotted a penalty to cut the gap to just four points.

If it was a bad end to the first half, it was an even worse start to the second for Saints as Alex Wills claimed the kick-off and Sale worked the ball well for Joe Carpenter to score on the left.

Ford missed the conversion but the Sharks had all the momentum.

Saints badly needed to find a way to get back to what they had been doing early in the game, and they did just that as their forwards picked up the pace, carrying hard into Sale territory before Robbie Smith found a way to get the ball down after a spell of pressure on the home line.

Belleau converted to make it 21-15 and Saints looked to kick on but again a cheap penalty gave Sale a reprieve.

And the traditional Saints nemesis Tom O'Flaherty was soon on the scoresheet as he finished off some fine work from Ford and Ma'asi-White, who had combined superbly close to halfway.

Ford kicked expertly from the right touchline and Sale were back in front.

However, the lead wasn't held for long as George Furbank made an immediate impact from the bench, picking up the ball inside his own half and racing forward before releasing Edoardo Todaro, who showed his speed to get to the line.

Belleau missed the tough conversion and Saints were soon feeling the heat again as Sale won a scrum penalty on halfway and booted the ball deep into away territory.

The penalties kept coming before a crossfield kick found the unmarked O'Flaherty, who gathered with ease to score his second.

Ford once again did brilliantly to notch the conversion from the touchline, but Saints issued an immediate and incredible response.

Callum Chick powered through and gave the ball to Mitchell, who raced forward and was knocked to the ground, but he found a way to offload to the onrushing Kemeny, who dived over in the corner.

Belleau missed another extremely difficult conversion and he was soon having to go off for a head injury assessment, bringing George Hendy back into the game.

There was a flashpoint soon after as the two sides engaged in a brawl, which seemed to have started when Hutchinson took a couple of blows to the head from an opposition player.

No action was taken but Saints had an earlier penalty to come back for and they turned down a shot at goal in a bid to really stick the knife in.

Chances came and went, but eventually Alex Coles was able to dive over in the left corner to reward his team for their dominance.

Furbank's conversion attempt shaved the right post to leave the gap at seven points, but Saints would not be denied and after they grabbed the ball on the right, Henry Pollock turned on the turbos and performed a swallow dive to score.

Furbank converted and Saints saw the game out to claim a memorable win, with their travelling support determined to sing long into the night as 'Shoe Army' and 'Oh When the Saints' echoed around the rapidly-emptying stadium.

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Rob du Preez, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White (Marius Louw 74), 11 Alex Wills (Arron Reed 51), 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke (Gus Warr 56); 1 Bevan Rodd (Si McIntyre 64), 2 Nathan Jibulu (Ethan Caine 57), 3 James Harper (Patreece Bell 70); 4 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Ban Bamber; 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Sam Dugdale, 8 Tom Curry (Tom Burrow 56).

Saints: 15 George Hendy (George Furbank 56); 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 Edoardo Todaro; 10 Anthony Belleau (George Hendy 68), 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Danilo Fischetti 52), 2 Robbie Smith (Craig Wright 52), 3 Trevor Davison (Elliot Millar Mills 52); 4 Alex Coles, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht (Ed Prowse 58); 6 Josh Kemeny (Tom Lockett 77), 7 Tom Pearson (Henry Pollock 66), 8 Callum Chick.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe