Opposition view: Sale 'could be hard to stop' after success against Saints

The Sharks secured a bonus-point 29-22 win in the Gallagher Premiership opener at Salford Stadium.

The game was largely even after 54 minutes, with Sale leading 10-3 and Saints giving as good as they had got.

But it all unravelled from a black, green and gold perspective as the Sharks scored three quickfire tries to make sure of the win.

Saints did fight back late on, scoring three second-half tries of their own to secure a losing bonus point.

But it was Sale who were celebrating at the end, with Sanderson full of hope for the future.

The Sharks boss said: “We have seen an exciting glimpse of what we’re going to be about.

“There has been a shift in focus in the way we will endeavour to attack opposition teams and there was also lots of physicality in defence I thought.

“We look like we could be hard to stop this season.

“In previous seasons we have looked under-cooked at times, but we showed good signs of form and that’s encouraging.”

More good news for Sale came in the form of Manu Tuilagi, with the England star making his return from 16 weeks out with a knee injury.

“It is good to see Manu get that game-time under his belt," Sanderson said.

“Hopefully we will get a full 80 minutes out of him soon. He showed what he’s about and he’ll keep working hard.

“It is great to have him back on the field and overall there were many more positives than negatives.”