It may be a cliche, but this really was a game of two halves. The first was a dire watch, one bereft of spark or inspiration. The second was a riot as two title-chasing teams shook off the fog of perhaps too much Christmas merriment and gave a sell-out crowd what was promised on the tin: five tries, one a decisive penalty try, and a famous home victory that takes Northampton top of the Premiership.
Both coaches would have had plenty of unpleasant words to share with their charges at the break but at least Sale’s boss, Alex Sanderson, had a seven-pointer to help the medicine go down. That came in the 38th minute – the game’s first score –thanks to some athletic work from Tom Roebuck, who plucked a high ball on the gallop to set Sale moving in Northampton’s 22. With a penalty advantage, George Ford tucked his shoulder and sucked in a defender, creating space for the onrushing Joe Carpenter on his outside to score.
Otherwise the opening 40 minutes was a masterclass of large men running into other large men without direction or cutting edge. Aimless kicks were returned in kind. Balls were spilled in contact. Set pieces spluttered. And when Fin Smith left a 40-metre penalty short of the posts, the home faithful let out a groan louder than any cheer they had managed to that point.
Not that Sale were offering much in attack themselves. Neither team managed to string together a move stretching beyond five phases until Northampton were spooked into action after Carpenter’s try. How Sanderson must have been yearning for the wrecking ball that is the injured Manu Tuilagi.
Sanderson’s counterpart, Phil Dowson, had nothing positive to cling to. Before the start of this round, Northampton had made more clean breaks than any other team. They’d done so with passes against the grain, big carries off 10 and plenty of width. None of that was on show as Sale’s explosive line speed overwhelmed the hosts in the tight channels and forced Smith to search for close runners off fractured play.
“Credit to Sale, they’re one of the best defensive sides in the league,” Dowson said. “Sometimes you have to wear sides down. In the second half we drove some seed again and managed to get some of our traditional game on the pitch.”
His side exploded out of the tunnel and found a previously absent sharpness. Suddenly width was on offer and Ollie Sleightholme was unleashed down the left. Only a desperate diving tackle from Robert du Preez kept Northampton scoreless.
Now genuine rugby was emerging through the gloom. Sale, with a lineout on their own line, worked their way up field and had the feed to another throw at the other end. The maul was stopped but they kept the ball until Luke Cowan-Dickie burrowed over to score. Ford, who missed a gimme from the tee earlier, slotted the extras.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall is having to sweat on the outcome of a tribunal against Mako Vunipola (pictured) after he was sent off in the final minute of his side's 37-19 victory over Newcastle. The experienced England tighthead saw red for a headshot off the final play at the StoneX Stadium to Falcons hooker Bryan Byrne, who was in the process of being tackled by Nick Isiekwe.
It took some of the shine of the result for Sarries, who returned to winning ways in the Premiership after back-to-back defeats and remain fifth in the table. McCall said: "On Mako's red card, we'll see because he was part of a double-tackle. He came in second, the primary tackler affected the body height of the ball carrier, so we'll see what the panel have to say in a couple of days' time.
Ben Earl returned from injury against the Premiership’s bottom side,his first action in nearly two months after a leg injury and the 25-year-old England back-row helped his club put recent losses to Northampton and Sale behind them.
Rory Jennings kicked the first points of the game for Newcastle inside two minutes before a prolonged spell of Saracens pressure eventually led to the hooker Theo Dan barging his way over. Manu Vunipola missed the conversion and Falcons were next to strike when Adam Radwan hacked the ball clear on two occasions before his searing pace allowed him to follow up and go clear. Jennings added the extras and then banged over a penalty from just over 40 metres to increase the visitors’ lead to 13-5.
Manu Vunipola quickly narrowed the gap to five points with a penalty of his own but the hosts had a let-off when a Iwan Stephens score on the counter was ruled out for a knock-on by Guy Pepper. Within a minute, the Sarries scrum-half Ivan van Zyl struck after quickly taking a penalty for a high tackle, and Manu Vunipola’s conversion gave his side the lead.
The Falcons fly-half kicked his side in front again with his third penalty, soon after Olly Hartley had been denied a score because of a forward pass by Van Zyl. But the visitors could not hold on until the break as Juan Martín González dummied before gliding over off the final play of the first half. It meant Saracens turned around 22-16 ahead, with Manu Vunipola and Jennings exchanging penalties in the early stages of the second half to keep the gap at six points.
Saracens had their bonus point after 64 minutes when they were awarded a penalty try as a driving maul heading for the Newcastle line was collapsed. The Falcons captain, Callum Chick, was sent to the sin-bin as a result and he was still off the field by the time Mako Vunipola squeezed his way over before his late red card. PA Media
“We were in the fight, up for it and probably had the game by the short and curlies if not for some lost collisions and ill-discipline,” Sanderson said.
Northampton rallied and George Furbank, set loose by Smith, wriggled round a defender and unfurled long strides to score. Ford slotted a drop-goal to take back control but when Sale were denied a try in the corner, Saints started to believe. Courtney Lawes, on as a replacement, made a difference around the fringe which coincided with better go-forward ball for those in green and black. With 15 minutes left, Alex Mitchell found a half gap to dot down from close range.
Now Northampton had momentum. A penalty and strong carries from the subsequent lineout feed inside Sale’s 22 brought them within touching distance of the line. Another penalty under the shade of the poles was quickly tapped by Furbank, carrying two Sharks defenders with him. One, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, was in an offside position and so the penalty try was awarded, catapulting Northampton into the lead for the first time.
They did not relinquish it. And when Alex Coles, playing his 100th game for the club, stole a lineout at the death to secure the victory, the drudgery before instantly evaporated.
