Match Centre: Gallagher Premiership: Northampton Saints 47-17 Sale Sharks

Northampton Saints 47-17 Sale Sharks, cinch Stadium @ Franklin's Gardens

Northampton Saints delivered a scintillating performance to secure a dominant 54-21 victory over Sale Sharks, running in seven tries and extending their winning home run beyond a year.

The Saints took control early, maintaining pressure throughout the game, and sealed a comfortable win at Franklin’s Gardens.

The match started with Sale Sharks drawing first blood through a du Preez penalty in the second minute.

However, Northampton quickly responded as Rory Hutchinson pounced on a breakdown turnover, setting up Fin Smith for a deft grubber kick that allowed Tom Freeman to score his 45th try for the club. Despite Smith missing the conversion, the Saints kept up the momentum.

The home side struck again, with Freeman receiving a sublime delayed pass from Hutchinson to break into the 22 and offload to George Furbank, who scored his first try of the season. Smith added the conversion to make it 12-3.

Sale briefly narrowed the gap with a rolling maul try from Luke Cowan-Dickie, but Sharks were soon reduced to 14 men when Alex Wills was sent to the sin-bin following an aerial collision.

Northampton capitalized immediately, with Sleightholme scoring after a slick passing sequence involving a precision pass from Ramm.

The bonus point came as Ramm, temporarily on for the bloodied Furbank, chipped in behind the Sale defense and fed scrum-half James to finish a stunning counterattack.

Saints continued to apply pressure, with Sleightholme adding a second try after a well-placed chip from Smith.

By halftime, Saints had built a commanding 30-point lead, further extended by Hendy intercepting a loose pass from Sale and racing under the posts. Smith added his fifth conversion of the half, giving Northampton a 37-7 advantage at the break.

The second half saw Sale attempt a comeback with a Carpenter try, but Northampton quickly regained control, with Ramm breaking through a tiring Sale defense to score his second. The Saints consolidated their position, closing out a memorable performance to stretch their unbeaten home run.

With such a dominant display, Northampton Saints will head into their next fixtures full of confidence, while Sale will look to regroup after a tough defeat.

Team line up:

Northampton: Furbank (capt); Hendy, Freeman, Hutchinson, Sleightholme; F Smith, T James; Iyogun, R Smith, Davison, Thornbury, Munga, Scott-Young, Pearson, Pollock.

Reserves: C Langdon, Haffar, Millar Mills, Hunter-Hill, Kemeny, McParland, Litchfield, Ramm.

Sale: Carpenter; Roebuck, Nayacalevu, Bedlow, Wills; R du Preez, Warr; McIntyre, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Van Rhyn, Andrews, T Curry, B Curry (capt), D du Preez.

Reserves: Caine, Onasanya, Harper, Bamber, Dugdale, Thomas, Curtis, L James.