Northampton Saints Surge Past Sale In 11-Try Premiership Thriller

Northampton Saints stormed back to the summit of the Gallagher Premiership with a dazzling 43-29 victory over Sale Sharks at the CorpAcq Stadium on January 24, 2026. In a contest that saw the lead change hands an astonishing six times, the Saints not only secured their first win at Sale in seven years but also dealt a near-fatal blow to the Sharks’ hopes of a fourth straight play-off appearance. For Saints fans, it was a night to remember—a see-saw battle that showcased bold attacking rugby, relentless determination, and a late surge that left the home side shell-shocked.

Heading into this Round 10 clash, Northampton had made five changes to their starting lineup, with Alex Coles, Tom Pearson, Callum Chick, Rory Hutchinson, and George Hendy all coming in. Fraser Dingwall captained the side from the centers, joined in midfield by Hutchinson, fresh off his call-up to Scotland’s Six Nations squad. The reshuffle allowed Tommy Freeman to return to the wing, linking up with Italy’s Edoardo Todaro—who had made a league-high 149 meters in the previous round—and Hendy at fullback. The half-back pairing of British & Irish Lion Alex Mitchell and French international Anthony Belleau remained unchanged, providing stability and flair.

Up front, Emmanuel Iyogun and Trevor Davison anchored the scrum, with Robbie Smith starting at hooker. Coles joined the in-form JJ Van Der Mescht in the second row, while the back row featured the returning Pearson, Chick, and the dynamic Josh Kemeny. The Saints opted for a six-two split on the bench, with internationals Danilo Fischetti, Elliot Millar Mills, and Henry Pollock in reserve, as well as club captain George Furbank making his return from injury.

Sale, meanwhile, fielded a formidable lineup of their own, including England stars George Ford and Tom Curry, with Raffi Quirke at scrum-half despite his impending move to Newcastle Red Bulls. After resting key players in their heavy European defeat to Toulouse, the Sharks were eager to make a statement in front of their home crowd, especially with their play-off aspirations hanging by a thread.

From the opening whistle, it was clear both sides meant business. Northampton struck first, with Freeman dotting down inside seven minutes after a sharp reverse pass from Mitchell, following a break by Hutchinson. Moments later, Hutchinson himself crossed in the left corner, finishing off crisp approach play with a pass from Kemeny. Belleau added the extras for both tries, putting the Saints up 14-0 and silencing the home fans.

Yet Sale, renowned for their resilience, found a lifeline through Quirke, who exploited a gap around the ruck to dive over after a powerful carry from Ernst van Rhyn. Ford converted, and the Sharks began to claw their way back. The game’s intensity ratcheted up when Curry was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Kemeny, but Northampton couldn’t capitalize on the numerical advantage. Instead, a Ford penalty just before halftime trimmed the deficit to 14-10, and within a minute of the restart, Sale took the lead for the first time—Carpenter finishing off a slick move orchestrated by Quirke and Ford.

What followed was a breathless period of rugby, as both teams traded blows in a bid to wrest control. Smith muscled over for Saints, only for O’Flaherty to reply for Sale after a clever switch pass from Ford. Ford’s touchline conversion nudged Sale ahead 22-21, but the pendulum swung again as Northampton countered brilliantly, with Todaro—set up by the returning Furbank—scoring his seventh Premiership try of the season. Not to be outdone, Sale’s Rob du Preez delivered a pinpoint cross-kick for O’Flaherty’s second try, Ford converting to make it 29-26 with less than a quarter of the game remaining.

With the match hanging in the balance, Northampton dug deep. Chick broke through, Mitchell kept the attack alive, and Kemeny finished in the corner to reclaim the lead. The Saints’ relentless pressure paid off as Coles stretched over for another try after a series of phases near the Sale line. Then, with time running out, substitute Henry Pollock put the exclamation point on the Saints’ performance, bursting through from halfway and diving over spectacularly—though there was a hint of controversy, as some questioned whether Freeman was in touch as he hacked the ball forward. The try stood, and Furbank’s conversion sealed the 43-29 win.

The statistics told the story: Northampton outscored Sale by seven tries to four, with Belleau and Furbank sharing the kicking duties. For Sale, Quirke, Carpenter, and O’Flaherty (twice) crossed the whitewash, while Ford contributed three conversions and a penalty. The Saints’ eighth win from ten Premiership games lifted them two points clear at the top of the table, while Sale’s defeat left them 16 points adrift of fourth place—almost certainly ending their play-off dreams for this season.

Reflecting on the chaotic, wind-swept contest, Sale’s director of rugby Alex Sanderson didn’t mince words: “We came up short in quite a few areas—set-piece early on, scrum dominance, collisions around the rucks, things that led into them having momentum and almost being able to score at will. That’s where we fell short across the 80 minutes and probably across the season if I’m being honest. Consistent inaccuracies in too many fundamental parts of our game. Realistically, that’s us done for the play-offs, but not the season. I am not going to give up on a season in January. No, we are going to get better. There is that to play for, and scalps to take.”

His Northampton counterpart, Phil Dowson, praised his side’s resilience: “Alex Sanderson had said it was a huge fixture for them, so we knew there would be an emotional spike from them and we know Sale are a very good side and it would be nip-and-tuck. It was a mad game with the wind, that made it pretty chaotic, but we stuck to our guns enough to get away in the last 10 minutes. We created loads in the first half and didn’t convert it and then they come straight out and score and it’s game on. 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. Other sides have struggled to get results up here, so that makes it all the sweeter that we managed to get over the line in the last game in this block.”

The Saints now head into the Six Nations break sitting pretty atop the Premiership, their attacking flair and newfound steel making them the team to beat. Sale, meanwhile, are left to regroup and salvage pride in the remaining rounds, with the play-offs now a distant hope. For Northampton, the victory was more than just points on the board—it was a statement of intent, delivered in style on a night when every pass, tackle, and try mattered.