Sale Sharks end losing streak with win over Saints
Sale Sharks produced an impressive display to end a three-game losing run following a comfortable 22-10 triumph over Northampton Saints at the AJ Bell Stadium.
The Sharks were excellent in the opening quarter and deservedly went 10-0 in front through Chris Ashton’s try and Rob du Preez’s penalty, but the Saints hit back.
Dan Biggar kicked a three-pointer before Lewis Ludlam powered over to level the scores at the interval.
Northampton were the better side going into half-time but Sale controlled matters brilliantly in the second period and touched down twice via Rohan Janse van Rensburg and Akker van der Merwe.
They also went in search of the bonus point but the hosts failed to take a number of opportunities that presented themselves.
Steve Diamond’s men have struggled to find their rhythm this season, despite going into the round six action in fifth position, but they were much improved.
The Sharks played with far more intensity, with powerhouse hooker Van der Merwe to the fore, and fly-half Du Preez rewarded their dominance with a penalty.
Sale built on that opening attack and continued to build pressure on the visitors. Northampton were not helping themselves, however, and mistakes allowed the hosts to dominate possession and territory.
One such error, from the usually reliable Cobus Reinach, then resulted in the Sharks opening up a 10-point buffer as the scrum-half’s pass was intercepted and finished by Ashton.
That elephant is getting smallerhttps://t.co/jyl1M8N3CT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 21, 2019
Northampton were under pressure but, to their credit, they responded excellently and reduced the arrears via the accurate kicking of Biggar.
It was the spark the visitors needed and a superb Rory Hutchinson break moved the away side to within inches of the line. An infringement from the Sharks halted the move but, from the resultant lineout, Ludlam touched down to level matters at the break.
The Saints had finished the first half the brighter, creating a number of opportunities, but half-time came at the wrong moment and enabled Diamond’s team to regroup.
"I was just a bit annoyed that was the way it was portrayed"https://t.co/FMIBE5X0Hh
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 21, 2019
Sale began the second period on the front foot with their power runners causing problems for the visiting rearguard. Janse van Rensburg had already shown his quality by barrelling through would-be tacklers and a few minutes later the centre did the same to score and give the Sharks a 17-10 advantage.
Chris Boyd’s men were back under duress and they conceded soon after as a dominant driving maul from the hosts resulted in the prolific Van der Merwe touching down.
That left Northampton outfit with plenty to do and they struggled to get through a sturdier opposition defence. As a result, Sale dictated proceedings and should have crossed the whitewash for the fourth time, but they were unable to secure the bonus point.
Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments