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Northampton Saints cemented their top four spot in the Aviva Premiership with an eight-try demolition of Sale Sharks at a sun-soaked Franklins Gardens. The result puts pressure on the teams above the Saints and will give them a lot of confidence heading into their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Ulster next weekend.
In beautiful conditions in Northampton, it was Sale who took the lead after just 3 minutes. Northampton didn't roll away in the tackle and Charlie Hodgson converted the penalty from the halfway line to give the visitors the lead. Northampton 0-3 Sale. Northampton came back strongly with a series of good scrums and on 9 minutes they had their first try. Good work from the forwards left scrum-half Lee Dickson the chance to take quick ball and dart over the line, though the score had to be checked over first by the TMO. Stephen Myler converted well and the home side were in front. Northampton 7-3 Sale
The Saints struck again on 14 minutes as Paul Diggin made an excellent break through the visitors' defence and sent the ball wide for Chris Ashton to swallow dive over. Myler missed the conversion this time but the Saints were in a strong position. Northampton 12-3 Sale. The home side were proving dominant in the scrum once more and when the visiting hooker Neil Briggs was found guilty of killing the ball, he was sent to the sin-bin. Northampton took instant advantage by crushing the Sale pack and as they crumbled, referee David Rose awarded a penalty try. Myler added the extras and the Saints were in total control after 20 minutes. Northampton 19-3 Sale
Sale were battling brilliantly with just 14 men and were enjoying their best spell of the game, eventually leading to their first try. The Sharks stretched the home defence and as Hodgson fired a pass out wide, Marc Jones collected to go over and respond well for the visitors. Hodgson added the two points and Sale had reduced the deficit. Northampton 19-10 Sale. The Sharks were taking huge confidence and on their next attack, they closed the gap even further. Northampton put their hands into a ruck and Hodgson slotted over another penalty. Northampton 19-13 Sale. Hodgson was dragging his side back into the contest and six minutes before half-time, the gap was down to three points. Roger Wilson was adjudged to have come in from the side and was promptly sin-binned, before Hodgson added the three points. Northampton 19-16 Sale
But, in one of the most entertaining games at Franklins Gardens in recent memory, the Saints grabbed a bonus-point try just before half-time. A solid Saints lineout and subsequent maul led to Brian Mujati crashing over for the home side's fourth try. Myler again converted to close out a fantastic half for Northampton and all the watching supporters. Northampton 26-16 Sale
The game wasn't about to slow down at the start of the second half and ten minutes into it, second row Wame Lewaravu scored the Sharks second try of the afternoon after some quick offloading by the visitors. As the try was scored, the touch-judge noticed an altercation involving Briggs. The visiting hooker was shown a second yellow card and Sale would have to play the rest of the game with 14 men. Northampton 26-21 Sale. The Saints re-established their lead soon after though as Myler was presented with a simple penalty in front of the posts. Northampton 29-21 Sale
Three minutes later and Northampton moved comfortably ahead with another try. Good recycling of the ball led to Tom Wood going over for his first ever try for the Saints. Myler converted once more and Northampton had a commanding lead again. Northampton 36-21 Sale. Charlie Hodgson wasn't giving up though and he scored another three points in front of the posts to reduce the deficit slightly with 23 minutes to go. Northampton 36-24 Sale. On 68 minutes, Northampton finally put the game to bed with their sixth try. Sale were struggling to contain the Saints pack again and as they brought down the maul they conceded their second penalty try. Myler's boot was adding insult to injury as the Saints killed the game off. Northampton 43-24 Sale
The gloss was put on the game for the home side with two tries in the final ten minutes. First, Shane Geraghty and Ben Foden combined to release Bruce Reihana who went over after having been on the pitch for 30 seconds as a replacement. Northampton 48-24 Sale. Foden had a hand in the eight try of the day as he ran from the scrum and offloaded to Phil Dowson who took the Saints past the half-century mark. Geraghty couldn't convert with the last action of the game but it had certainly been a magical day for Northampton Saints. Northampton 53-24 Sale
Thoughts: Northampton Saints are back in business and are charging towards a play-off place at breakneck speed. They move onto the Heineken Cup next weekend with massive momentum from three straight Aviva Premiership wins. Few would back against them being a real force in the play-offs come the end of the season. As for Sale Sharks, they put in a good performance in the face of a Saints whirlwind and they will be pleased at how they responded when Briggs was sent off. They shouldn't have any relegation worries on this performance but they will want to improve results before the end of the campaign.
Northampton:
Tries: Dickson, Ashton, penalty (2), Mujati, Wood, Reihana, Dowson
Conversions: Myler (5)
Penalties: Myler
Drop-goals: None
Sale:
Tries: Jones, Lewaravu
Conversions: Hodgson
Penalties: Hodgson (4)
Drop-goals: None
