A tough afternoon at Franklin’s Gardens saw Saints take away five points by running in seven tries in their final home game of 2025, with the final score ending 47–21 to Northampton Saints.
Saints opened the scoring inside four minutes as Hendy broke through the Sharks defence and Pollock finished under the posts, with Finn Smith converting.
Pressure from the restart earned Saints field position deep in Sharks territory, and after loose possession remained in play, Hendy burst through to score their second, though Smith’s conversion went wide.
Saints extended their lead midway through the half as Thame claimed his first Premiership try, again converted by Smith. Sale responded well, working patiently into the Saints 22 before Rob du Preez shifted the ball wide for Reed and then Flats to finish, with du Preez adding the extras.
Saints secured their bonus-point try before the break as Josh Kemeny stepped past two defenders to give the hosts a 26–7 advantage at half-time.
Furbank restarted play for the second half as Saints maintained their attacking momentum. Finn Smith broke through the Sharks defence to release Hendy, who crossed for his second try of the afternoon.
Sharks applied sustained pressure to pin Saints inside their own 22, forcing them to defend on their try line. A fumbled loose ball briefly allowed Saints to attempt an exit, but Flats read the wide pass brilliantly, stepping into the line to intercept and run in Sharks’ second try.
Sharks looked to build on the momentum from the restart, immediately entering the Saints 22. With Thame shown a yellow card for a high tackle defending inside the 22, Sharks made the pressure count as Reed finished out wide for their third try.
As Sharks looked to build momentum, Saints’ backs quickly threatened again, with captain Furbank wrestling over for the try before Finn Smith’s conversion extended the lead to 40–21.
Sharks pushed for a fourth try in the closing minutes but repeated handling errors in the Saints 22 proved costly. Saints then regained possession, with Tom Pearson breaking through to score their seventh and final try, sealing a 47–21 win for Northampton.
Join us for our final home game of 2025 this Boxing Day — tickets on sale now.
