Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson feared his side would face a Northampton backlash after their defeat to Leicester and he was proved right.
Sanderson’s men were slow out of the blocks and inaccurate as they lost the match before the break.
He said: “You can’t play loose against an angry team and they were obviously really angry after losing that derby last weekend.
“We gave them enough to get their tails up, and when Northampton have their tails up they are the best in the country – and that’s why they’re the champions.
“At half-time when we simplified things and talked about our me...