Northampton stun Sale with last minute match-winner
WITH two minutes remaining, this contest bore a similarity to Northampton’s previous visit to the AJ Bell Stadium.
Three points in arrears, a lineout on the opposition five-metre line and a try needed to win the game.
In November, the Saints went home disconsolate after failing to convert from close range, but those emotions were reversed yesterday.
This time they remained patient and, when the opportunity presented itself, the visitors struck through Nafi Tuitavake to snatch a dramatic victory.
All they require next weekend is a win over Harlequins to make sure of their passage into the Anglo-Welsh semi-finals and few would bet against them.
It is evidently a competition they are targeting, with the league play-offs a distant dream for a club that capitulated before Christmas.
“It’s an away victory and this is a tough place to come, whichever competition it’s in,” Saints interim head coach Alan Dickens said. “What pleased me most was that we stuck in there, we went through the phases at the end, we were patient and we scored, so it’s a fantastic result.”
Northampton named a strong team and their experience proved invaluable throughout, after they were tested by a comparatively young Sale side.
Although the hosts’ front-five was strong, their backline contained two teenagers in the shape of Kieran Wilkinson and Luke James, while Cameron Redpath came on in the second period to bring the average age down even further.
The Greater Manchester outfit’s boss Steve Diamond was certainly impressed with the youngsters’ efforts, even if he did rue the Sharks’ inability to see out the game.
“Redpath, Wilkinson and Luke James did really well, some positives were there, but we probably should have won,” Diamond said.
While Sale’s boss reserved praised for the academy players, he went on to comment about the strength of Northampton’s squad and their subsequent reaction to winning a thrilling contest.
“I’m not too despondent and fair play to Northampton, for them to rock up with their full-strength side, or £10 million-worth,
good luck to them,” he added.
“They were singing as if they’ve just won the league in the changing rooms so good on them, we will just get ourselves ready for London Irish in the league.”
It was a cruel way for a spirited Sale outfit to see their qualification chances dissipate but credit must go to Northampton, who fought back from 8-0 down – via Sam Moore’s try and Will Addison’s penalty – to go 14-8 up through Ken Pisi and Ben Nutley.
The visitors’ first effort was particularly impressive, with the Saints down to 14 men following Tom Stephenson’s yellow card for a cynical infringement, as Pisi and Cobus Reinach combined for the wing to scamper over.
Reinach then created the next score for Nutley before the Sharks got back into it through James. James Grayson kept the hosts at arm’s length with a threepointer but Marc Jones’ try appeared to have won the game for Diamond’s men, until Tuitavake’s late intervention.