Saints storm back to top with thrilling 11-try win over Sale Sharks. Northampton Saints have reclaimed their spot at the top of the Premiership table after a stirring 11-try victory over Sale Sharks, with the Saints pack proving resilient in the face of adversity.
The match started off well for Northampton, as Tommy Freeman broke through and scored inside the first seven minutes after a sharp reverse pass from Alex Mitchell. The Saints continued to dictate play, but struggled to find the back of the net until center Hutchinson made it 10-0 in the left corner with Kemeny providing the assist.
Sale, however, refused to give up, and Quirke soon got on the board with a diving effort under the posts. Tom Curry's yellow card in the 33rd minute did little to deter Sale's momentum, as Carpenter responded with another try to level the score at 15-14.
The first half concluded with George Ford kicking a penalty for Sale just before halftime to give his team a four-point lead heading into the second period. The Saints however began the second half strong, with Rob du Preez going over in an effort to restore their advantage but it was not enough as they trailed 29-26 at this point.
In a stunning turn of events, Sale's O'Flaherty scored twice more and was joined by two tries from George Ford. However, Northampton refused to give up and responded with a hat-trick of tries from Josh Kemeny, Alex Coles, and Henry Pollock.
With 15 minutes remaining in the match, Saints took their lead back into double digits but Sale were far from done. With just under ten minutes left on the clock, George Ford scored his final try as the Saints closed out a hard-fought win.
"We came up short in quite a few areas – set-piece early on, scrum dominance, collisions around the rucks... That's where we fell short across the 80 minutes and probably across the season if I'm being honest," Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said after the match.
"Consistent inaccuracies in too many fundamental parts of our game."
Northampton Saints head coach Phil Dowson admitted that his side were under pressure, stating: "It was a mad game with the wind... We created loads in the first half and didn't convert it... But I admire the way we stuck at the plan. It's been a long time here. We felt we've been close the last couple of years."
The win takes Northampton to the top of the Premiership table, while Sale Sharks' chances of a fourth consecutive top-four spot now appear all but over as they lie 16 points adrift of fourth place.
The match started off well for Northampton, as Tommy Freeman broke through and scored inside the first seven minutes after a sharp reverse pass from Alex Mitchell. The Saints continued to dictate play, but struggled to find the back of the net until center Hutchinson made it 10-0 in the left corner with Kemeny providing the assist.
Sale, however, refused to give up, and Quirke soon got on the board with a diving effort under the posts. Tom Curry's yellow card in the 33rd minute did little to deter Sale's momentum, as Carpenter responded with another try to level the score at 15-14.
The first half concluded with George Ford kicking a penalty for Sale just before halftime to give his team a four-point lead heading into the second period. The Saints however began the second half strong, with Rob du Preez going over in an effort to restore their advantage but it was not enough as they trailed 29-26 at this point.
In a stunning turn of events, Sale's O'Flaherty scored twice more and was joined by two tries from George Ford. However, Northampton refused to give up and responded with a hat-trick of tries from Josh Kemeny, Alex Coles, and Henry Pollock.
With 15 minutes remaining in the match, Saints took their lead back into double digits but Sale were far from done. With just under ten minutes left on the clock, George Ford scored his final try as the Saints closed out a hard-fought win.
"We came up short in quite a few areas – set-piece early on, scrum dominance, collisions around the rucks... That's where we fell short across the 80 minutes and probably across the season if I'm being honest," Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson said after the match.
"Consistent inaccuracies in too many fundamental parts of our game."
Northampton Saints head coach Phil Dowson admitted that his side were under pressure, stating: "It was a mad game with the wind... We created loads in the first half and didn't convert it... But I admire the way we stuck at the plan. It's been a long time here. We felt we've been close the last couple of years."
The win takes Northampton to the top of the Premiership table, while Sale Sharks' chances of a fourth consecutive top-four spot now appear all but over as they lie 16 points adrift of fourth place.
. The team's resilience is admirable, but at what cost? Sale gave it their all and still fell short 
. It's easy to say you're just one try away from victory, but the truth is, consistency is key 
. Saints are on top right now, but will they stay that way when the going gets tough? 
northampton saints came back from the dead and it was so thrilling to watch!! 11 tries is insane! 
sale sharks put up a great fight, but in the end, saints proved too strong. the game was so intense and emotional for both teams, i can only imagine how they felt going into the second half down by 3 points 
. kemeny and coles' tries at the end were clutch!!! 
Those 11 tries from Northampton were insane! The way Hutchinson scored that try in the left corner with Kemeny's assist was so clutch 
And then Sale just refused to give up, but in the end, they came up short. I gotta give props to Josh Kemeny for his hat-trick of tries 
. They need to step up their game if they wanna make a comeback! 
I was on the edge of my seat when they were trailing 29-26 and thought for sure Sale was gonna take it away from them... but noooo! The Saints came back strong with those three tries from Josh Kemeny, Alex Coles, and Henry Pollock. 
I'm so hyped for Northampton right now, they totally deserved that win! 
i think sale sharks were unlucky with the refs but at the end of the day saints played way better than them in the 2nd half 
. It just goes to show that every team has a bad day or two... except when you're Northampton Saints 
. Seriously though, this win for Saints is huge and I'm loving the vibes around the team right now 
sale sharks were way more consistent than saints throughout the whole game and dey didnt get any credit for it i think sale got robbed of the win, the ref made some bad calls and northampton just got lucky with all dese tries. saint's pack was no match 4 sale's scrum or lineout, dey struggled 2 pass deir way outta rucks 