Furbank and Mitchell see off battling Sale to take Northampton top

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 table.

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 masterful 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 tackler, creating space for the onrushing Joe Carpenter on his outside to score.

Otherwise the opening 40 minutes were 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 poles, the home faithful let out a groan louder than any cheer they’d managed.

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 following Carpenter’s try. How Sanderson must have been yearning for the wrecking charges of 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 and blitz defence overwhelmed Northampton in the tight channels and forced Smith to search for close runners off fractured play.

Whatever Dowson said at half-time worked: 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.

Quick Guide

Mako Vunipola sent off as Sarries return to winning ways

Show

Ben Earl (pictured) returned from injury as Saracens got back to winning ways against the Premiership’s bottom side, Newcastle, but the victory was marred by a red card for Mako Vunipola right at the end. 

The game was Earl’s 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. The champions remain fifth in the table, but they are set to be without Mako Vunipola for several weeks after he was sent off for a headshot on Bryan Byrne off the final play.

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 took some of the shine off for Saracens. PA Media

Photograph: Matt Impey/REX/Shutterstock

But Northampton rallied and George Furbank, set loose against the grain with Smith on the front foot in Sale’s red zone, wriggled round a defender and unfurled long strides to score. Now within a score, a path back was mapped out. Ford slotted a drop-goal but when Sale were denied a try in the corner, Saints started to believe. Courtney Lawes, on as a replacement on the hour, made a difference around the fringe and that coincided with better go-forward for those in green and black. With 15 minutes left and a penalty advantage, Mitchell found a half gap to dot down from close range.

Now Northampton had momentum. A penalty and subsequent lineout feed inside Sale’s 22 and strong carries brought them within touching distance of the line. Another penalty under the shade of the poles was quickly tapped by Furbank, carrying two Sharks tacklers with him. One, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, was in an off-side 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.