Northampton Saints Under-18s made it a hat-trick of wins so far this season as they overcame their Heywood Road hoodoo to defeat Sale Sharks on the road.
Charlie Reed’s side entered the Premiership Rugby Under-18 Academy League contest in Salford with a spring in their step following victories at home against Yorkshire (53-26) and away at Newcastle Falcons (12-40).
The young Saints got off to a strong start, leading by 12 points at the break as James Pater crossed the line twice and Hugh Shields landed three successful kicks, with the hosts responding with one unconverted try in response.
The second period was a nerve-jangling affair but tries from Harry Price, Ben Currie and Sonny Goode – plus two more Shields conversions – completed a 26-36 victory on the road.
“Throughout the whole game we found ourselves defending for the long periods,” said Reed. “Sale had a good mindset around keeping the ball alive for as much as they can, keeping it in hand, not wanting to give up too many chances by kicking us the ball.
“I think we did well to stay patient and then capitalise on some good kick-return opportunities.
“It turned into a three-point game in the second half. We found ourselves defending for a long periods of the game, which broke us almost towards the back end of the second half and we did well to hold out.
“Where we can maybe develop with this side is a bit more understanding around what controlling a game might look like. We’ve got a great mindset around wanting to play really quickly. We could have been slightly better at understanding when the game was in our control and how we deal with that.”
Staying perfect 👌
— Saints Rugby Academy (@SaintsRugbyAcad) January 27, 2025
The Under-18s made it three BP wins out of three in Sale.
🦈 26-36 😇 pic.twitter.com/qX5VI2kYTB
Fullback Pater received Reed’s man-of-the-match award, as he took his try tally to four for the campaign having also registered against Newcastle and Yorkshire.
“James has worked really hard after he dislocated shoulder to come back and wanting to be more robust, more physical and that was a great test for him to see how far he's come,” he said. “I thought he was outstanding.
“Sonny Goode was on the bench for us, he’s been waiting a couple of weeks to have his opportunity in an Academy League runout and took it really well. He assisted a try, scored himself a really good try as well. So waited patiently for his chance and then took it.
“I was chatting to Hoppers [Mark Hopley] after the game and we haven’t won away at Sale for a long time, so to go up there and get a result in some tricky conditions with a swirling wind and rain is a real achievement. We spoke a lot with the boys about it being quite easy to play our way and compete when we’re on the 4Gs and the nicer pitches.
“But to do it there on a muddy Heywood Road pitch and put in the performance as we did was really pleasing.”
Charlie Reed, Academy Coach
Next up for the Under-18s is the visit of Leicester Tigers to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday 1 February (kick-off: 12pm).
Saints Under-17s saw their unbeaten run come to an end with a 40-22 defeat to their Sale Sharks counterparts. Woody Hamilton Hurst, Will Hepher, Noah Hendry and Maxton Hubbard were the try-scorers.
“There were quite a few lads we put in there who haven’t had that kind of exposure before,” explained Reed. “I want to give a massive credit to Sale, I thought their Under-17s were exceptional. I thought they moved the ball really well. They had some great size to them.
“That was a real challenge for our lads and it was probably a game that they needed. It was still a good game to watch and a good experience for them.”
Saints Under-18s (vs Sale Sharks): 15 Pater, 14 Jackson, 13 Lumley, 12 Innes, 11 Tamani, 10 Shields, 9 Evans; 1 Browne, 2 Garrett, 3 Reid, 4 Hull, 5 Lawrence, 6 Appleby (c), 7 Price, 8 Walta.
Replacements: 16 Line, 17 Veevers, 18 Williams, 19 Roberts, 20 Miska-Alvarez, 21 Currie, 22 St John, 23 Goode.