Opposition view: Sanderson proud of Sharks' performance against Saints

The Sharks saw 14-0 and 17-7 leads disappear as the black, green and gold roared back to claim a crucial Gallagher Premiership victory at a sold-out cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

It looked for a long time like Saints would be frustrated in their efforts to move to the top of the table, but an Alex Mitchell score and a penalty try helped them to get the job done.

Despite the result, Sanderson was pleased with much of what he saw from Sale.

And he said: “There is pride. I thought their mentality and effort was outstanding and you are not going to lose many games with that kind of mentality.

"It feels a lot different from a couple of other losses we have had this year when we have just not been at the races.

"We were in the fight, up for it, and probably had the game by the short and curlies if not for some lost collisions and some discipline.

"There were 10 minutes after half-time when we seemed to be constantly on the back foot, they were making yards with every carry.

"We want to be on the front foot making collisions otherwise you find yourself in the tumble dryer like we were for 20 minutes."