Seven-try Saints dominate Sale Sharks

The Prem

Northampton (26) 47

Tries: Pollock, Hendy 2, Thame, Kemeny, Furbank, Pearson Cons: Smith 6

Sale (7) 21

Tries: O'Flaherty 2, Reed Cons: Du Preez 3

A George Hendy-inspired Northampton Saints put on an attacking masterclass to defeat a below-par Sale Sharks in the Prem.

Phil Dowson's Saints were irresistible in the first half, scoring three quick tries through Henry Pollock, Toby Thame and the irrepressible Hendy.

The Sharks responded through Tom O'Flaherty's diving effort before Josh Kemeny's try-of-the-season contender extended the Saints' lead.

After the break, the visitors put up more of a fight. Following Hendy's second, O'Flaherty and Arron Reed gave the Sharks hope, but further tries from George Furbank and Tom Pearson secured an emphatic home win for the Saints.

Having lost head coach Marco Bortolami during the week, the Sharks were looking for some semblance of consistency, but made the worst possible start.

With the ball in midfield, Alex Mitchell put Hendy through a wide gap in the Sharks' defence. The winger committed his defender before passing to Pollock, who outpaced Reed to dot down behind the posts.

Saints then struck again. Following a loose pass it appeared the attacking move had broken down, but Hendy found yet another gap in the Sharks' drift defence and powered over.

The shellshocked visitors were simply unable to keep hold of the ball and paid the price once again when a passage of rapid offloading led to Thame sneaking over in the corner.

Sale finally got on the board after good work from Reed propelled the visitors into the Saints 22.

Following successive close-range drives, the full-back then fed O'Flaherty whose exuberant dive prevented Furbank from forcing him into touch before the line.

Despite that momentary respite, the Sharks found themselves firmly on the wrong side of referee Christophe Ridley's whistle and were soon back on the defensive.

In a moment of breathtaking individual brilliance, Kemeny accelerated past four would-be Sharks tacklers before sidestepping Reed to cap a sensational first half performance for the Saints.

The break did nothing to ease the Sharks' defensive woes as Hendy soon added the Saints' fifth.

It was Fin Smith's turn to find a gap in the visitors' defence and having escaped into the Sale 22, he fed the winger who then comprehensively outfoxed the flat-footed O'Flaherty for his second try of the day.

O'Flaherty got his own back shortly afterwards, somehow picking off Hendy's speculative pass as the Saints looked to counter-attack before Reed added the Sharks' third.

But the visitors never looked like overhauling their deficit and after a period of sublime offloading, Saints were in again.

Smith was fortunate his long pass was only partially intercepted, with Furbank regathering the loose ball and powering through Rob du Preez as Saints passed the 40-point mark.

Pearson then added the gloss as the clock ran out, finding yet another hole in the visitors' defence to waltz through in front of the delighted home fans.

The result moves Northampton up to second, only behind leaders Exeter on points difference, while Sale remain in seventh.

Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson spoke to BBC Radio Northampton after the match:

"We were excellent. The last two weeks we've been very good and I thought we looked very, very sharp, particularly in the first half.

"(Sale) are a very good side, they've got some established threats and I thought we dealt with those. I thought we looked very dangerous, fast and emphatic – dangerous across the park."

On Josh Kemeny's first-half try:

"(It was) outrageous – I got out of my seat for that one and I'm so pleased for him, such great athleticism."

Northampton: Furbank (c); Hendy, Thame, Dingwall, Todaro; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Wright, Davison; Coles, van der Mescht, Kemeny, Pearson, Pollock.

Replacements: Smith, Fischetti, Kundiona, Munga, Chick, James, Freeman, Sleightholme.

Yellow card: Thame.

Sale: Reed; O'Flaherty, Bedlow, Louw, Wills; du Preez, Quirke; McIntyre, Cowan Dickie, John; Burrow, Bamber, Vermuelen, van Rhyn (c), T. Curry.

Replacements: Jibulu, Onasanya, Harper, Andrews, du Preez, Warr, Davies, Woodman.

Referee: Christophe Ridley.