Premiership: Northampton Saints 67-17 Sale Sharks

Cobus Reinach moved onto eight Premiership tries this season

Free-flowing Northampton scored nine tries as they abruptly ended Sale's five-game unbeaten Premiership run.

Two Cobus Reinach scores helped them to an early 20-3 lead, before they lost Wales fly-half Dan Biggar to injury.

Tom Wood and Tom Collins scored either side of a Sale penalty try to seal Saints' bonus point before half-time.

The hosts stayed strong after the break with Ahsee Tuala, Taqele Naiyaravoro, George Furbank, Rory Hutchinson and Collins scoring to complete the rout.

Sale could not cope with the pace of Northampton's first-half play and could only manage an acrobatic Denny Solomona finish after the interval as they were second-best in all departments.

• Saracens 33-10 Leicester

• Harlequins 47-33 Worcester

• Bath 30-13 Newcastle

• Premiership table

Biggar - recalled after two weeks on international duty - made way after 19 minutes, but after the match Saints boss Chris Boyd said he should be fit for Wales' Six Nations match against England next Saturday.

Reinach, who himself was replaced through injury in the second half, moved onto eight Premiership tries this season thanks to classy offloads from Lewis Ludlam and Piers Francis, who assumed kicking duties after Biggar's departure.

Northampton played more blistering rugby after the break, Tuala walking in after a fine team move and Collins adding his second with an inventive chip, as they won by a margin of 50 points or more for only the second time in the Premiership.

Steve Diamond's Sale beat Saracens in their last league game, but defeat saw them overtaken by their opponents in what has become a compact mid-table.

His opposite number Boyd has overseen four consecutive victories - a run which has also carried Saints to the Premiership Rugby Cup final and the Challenge Cup knockout stages.

Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd:

"It was a pretty decent team performance. I'm very happy.

"If you'd told me that would be the scoreline before the game, I certainly would have taken it.

"It was more the manner of the performance, rather than the scoreline, which was the most pleasing thing."

Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond:

"It was probably one of the worst days at the office. I really did not see that coming, to be honest.

"We weren't right between the ears. We got beaten in every area. We got hammered. I'm very disappointed, embarrassed actually. It was one of those days.

"The players looked like they didn't know each other and the message at half-time was to try and get four tries for a losing bonus point."

Northampton: Furbank; Tuala, Hutchinson, Francis, Naiyaravoro; Biggar, Reinach; Van Wyk, Fish, Painter, Ratuniyarawa, Moon, Gibson, Ludlam, Wood (capt)

Replacements: Marshall, Waller, Hill, Coles, Brussow, Mitchell, Burrell, Collins

Sale: James; Solomona, O'Connor, van Rensburg, McGuigan; MacGinty, de Klerk; Harrison, Webber, John, Evans, Phillips, Ross (capt), Curry, Beaumont.

Replacements: Neild, Bristow, Jones, Ostrikov, Strauss, Cliff, James, Reed

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