Northampton Saints 21 Sale Sharks 22
Northampton, who would have put this contest to bed on another day, were unable to capitalise on the superiority they enjoyed as Sale battled to an unlikely victory.
It was a game that never quite reached its potential after an opening full of vim and vigour. There was a single point in it as George Furbank stood over the tee in the throes. Though Storm Eunice had calmed for kick-off, the winds had begun to whip through Franklin’s Gardens again, toughening the task for the Northampton fly-half. Furbank lifted for the heavens, but the Saints’ prayers would not be answered.
The game began apace. AJ MacGinty had already knocked through a penalty when Arron Reed plucked Raffi Quirke’s box kick from the sky, beating Rory Hutchinson. The jet-shoed wing raced away to extend the lead to 10 points inside four minutes.
Northampton’s riposte came immediately, Juarno Augustus the scorer after Sale failed to quell the hosts’ maul, but Sale soon had a second. After a dynamite Quirke break down the right, the Sharks bit chunks out of the close-in defence. MacGinty stepped and found Rohan Janse van Rensburg, via a fortuitous carom, and the South African’s soft touch put Sam James in.
The helter-skelter opening proved too much for referee Tom Foley; Matthew Carley was forced to swiftly rid himself of the assistant’s flag to replace his injured colleague, and the unexpected pause rather punctured the energy of the opening skirmishes. For 15 minutes the boot dominated before Northampton again showed their forward might at the maul. Matt Proctor’s forthright midfield carry caused further fissures; Alex Coles – on as a first-half replacement – wriggled over.
It was the impressive Proctor who created the next score as Saints went in front soon after the players re-emerged. It was a little gem down the left, too, Proctor fading to the outside and brushing aside two tacklers to release an offload. Courtnall Skosan’s tap-dancing caused further mischief, allowing a supporting Alex Mitchell to score.
However, Sale, who had seen little of the ball after that opening quarter of an hour, struck back. This time it was the unlikely silhouette of Faf de Klerk rising to beat Hutchinson in the air and, after the ball tumbled invitingly, Janse van Rensburg made untroubled passage to the line.
The conversion nudged Sale in front and there the score, improbably, stayed. With Mitchell and Furbank pulling the strings, Northampton worked their way deep into Sharks’ territory time and again but could not force their way through. Their best moments came out wide: another Skosan romp was ended by a high tackle, but Sale were able to stall the maul, and the chance, like many others, came to nothing.
Until, at the last, possible salvation as Sale infringed at a ruck five metres in from the touchline. But Furbank’s fading effort left Northampton to rue their profligacy.
Match details
Scoring sequence: 0-3 MacGinty penalty, 0-8 Reed try, 0-10 MacGinty conversion, 5-10 Augustus try, 7-10 Furbank conversion, 7-15 James try, 12-15 Coles try, 14-15 Furbank conversion, 19-15 Mitchell try, 21-15 Furbank conversion, 21-20 Janse van Rensburg try, 21-22 MacGinty conversion.
Northampton Saints: R Hutchinson; O Sleighthome, M Proctor, F Dingwall (P Francis 65(, C Skosan; G Furbank, A Mitchell; E Iyogun (A Waller 60), S Matavesi, E Painter (P Hill 53); D Ribbans, B Nansen (A Ratuniyarawa 52); K Wilkins (M Haywood 63), T Harrison (A Coles 31), J Augustus.
Sale Sharks: S James; T Roebuck (B McGuigan 66), R du Preez (C Doherty 63), R Janse van Rensburg, A Reed; AJ MacGinty, R Quirke (F de Klerk 53); R Harrison (S McIntyre 49), C Langdon (T Taylor 49), C Oosthuizen (J Jones 49); C Wiese (D Barrow 31; C Neild 40), JP du Preez; J-L du Preez, J Ross, D du Preez.
Referee: Tom Foley (Matthew Carley 19).
