Sale Sharks end Northampton Saints run

Sale Sharks brought an end to leaders Northampton Saints with a 19-6 victory at the AJ Bell Stadium on Saturday.

The loss is Northampton Saints second defeat of the season.

Mark Cueto, Marc Jones and Tom Brady all scored tries in a terrific first half
from the Sharks, as they climb further towards the top four.

Saints’ returning Six Nations stars looked sluggish, and despite pressure in
the second half looked unlikely to mount a comeback.

Saints took an early lead through the boot of Will Hooley, but were dealt a
shock when Cueto scored the first try of the match.

Dwayne Peel ran 30 metres, and when the ball was eventually worked wide, Cueto
crept over in the corner. Danny Cipriani converted from a tight angle, but Hooley
was on hand with another penalty to keep the scores close.

Northampton were reeling just before the break, as Sale scored their second.
Jones scrambled across the line after a mountain of Sharks pressure.

A resulting brawl led to Dylan Hartley and Sammy Tuitupou going to the bin.

There was still time for the visitors to fall further behind, with Brady benefiting
from a super kick in behind from Cipriani to give Sale a shock 19-6 half time
lead.

Saints came out of the blocks quickly, but were unable to cross thanks in part
to some excellent last ditch defence from the home side.

A stubborn Sharks defence kept the second half scoreless, as Jim Mallinder’s
men plugged away looking for any sort of points.

Despite their continued efforts, Steve Diamond’s men held on for one of their
biggest victories in recent memory.

Tom Brady’s performance will have stood out, as he managed to tame the not
inconsiderable talents of George North on the wing and get himself on the scoresheet.

Final Score Sale Sharks (19) 19 Northampton Saints (6) 6

Scorers

Sale Sharks
Tries: Cueto, Jones, Brady
Cons: Cipriani 2

Northampton Saints
Pens: Hooley 2

Match Officials
Referee: Luke Pearce (23rd Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Paul Burton and Kelvin Stewart
TMO: Keith Lewis

Teams

Sale Sharks

Tom Arscott, Tom Brady, Jonny Leota, Sammy Tuitupou, Mark Cueto, Danny Cipriani, Dwayne Peel, Eifion Lewis-Roberts, Marc Jones, Vadim Cobilas, Jonathan Mills, Michael Paterson, Dan Braid, David Seymour, James Gaskell

Replacements: Aston Croall, Ross Harrison, Henry Thomas, Andrei Ostrikov, Mark Easter, Will Cliff, Nick Macleod, Rob Miller

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 James Wilson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 GJ van Velze, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Alex Waller.

Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Gareth Denman, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 James Craig, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Will Hooley, 23 George Pisi.