Sale Sharks edge Saints in gritty 27-24 Premiership showdown

Sale Sharks 27-24 Northampton Saints, Salford Stadium

The Sale Sharks survived a late surge to defeat the Northampton Saints 27-24 in a fiercely contested Gallagher Premiership clash at Salford Stadium.

In a game marked by physicality, momentum swings, and moments of individual brilliance, Sale held their nerve to claim four crucial points, while Saints had to settle for two valuable bonus points after a spirited fightback.

Sale began on the front foot, pinning the Saints deep in their own half with clever kicking and strong breakdown pressure. Their efforts paid off in the 11th minute when winger Tom O'Flaherty touched down in the corner after fly-half George Ford orchestrated a slick attacking move.

Compounding the Saints’ misery, makeshift fly-half Tom James was yellow-carded for a high tackle in the buildup.

With Saints reduced to 14 men, things quickly went from bad to worse. Fullback Tommy Freeman was also sent to the bin minutes later for a deliberate knock-on, leaving the visitors two players down.

Sale exploited the numerical advantage immediately—Tom Roebuck finished a sharp counterattack in the 17th minute after a cross-field kick from O'Flaherty, stretching the lead to 12-0.

Remarkably, despite being down to 13 men, Northampton struck back in the 19th minute. A break from flanker Henry Pollock set up prop Emmanuel Iyogun, who powered over the line.

The conversion missed, but it reignited Saints’ momentum. That didn’t last long, though, as Joe Carpenter broke through and set up Roebuck for his second try in the 23rd minute, pushing Sale’s lead to 17-5.

As both yellow cards expired, the Saints regrouped and struck again before halftime. In the 30th minute, Tommy Freeman made amends for his earlier error by slicing through Sale’s defence to score under the posts. With Alex Mitchell adding the extras, the Saints cut the deficit to 17-12 at the break.

The second half started with fireworks from Saints flanker Henry Pollock, who lit up the match in the 42nd minute with a stunning solo try—chipping over the last defender and regathering to score. Mitchell missed the conversion, but the scores were level at 17-17.

Sale responded swiftly. In the 48th minute, prop Bevan Rodd finished off a driving maul to put the hosts back in front, with Ford converting to make it 24-17. The next 15 minutes were a brutal arm-wrestle, with both teams exchanging heavy blows but unable to break each other down.

Ford extended the lead in the 66th minute with a penalty, giving Sale a cushion at 27-17. The Saints refused to go quietly. With four minutes left, Fraser Dingwall took advantage of a misaligned Sale defence to score beneath the sticks. Mitchell’s conversion brought it to 27-24 and set up a frantic finale.

Northampton pounded Sale's line in the final phases, but the hosts held firm. A critical turnover inside their own 22 allowed the Sharks to escape and close out the match.