Pat Lam grabbed a second half hat-trick as Northampton moved level on points with Leicester at the top of the Premiership table.

The Western Samoan, who was player of the year in Newcastle's championship-winning team last season, transformed the game in the space of 14 minutes.

Lam made the big difference but Sale provided their part in an entertaining match that whetted the appetite of the 4,300 crowd for next week's Tetley's Cup tie between the sides.

Pat Lam: An explosive performance

"Sale is never an easy place to come to and, just like winning at Bath a couple of weeks ago, it's a big psychological barrier that we've overcome," said Saints boss Ian McGeechan.

The Manchester club had their own try-scoring hero in new wing sensation Steve Hanley, who grabbed a brace to take his tally to six in just four matches and provided the pass from which co-winger Matt Moore scored his side's fourth try.

Northampton made a dream start with a try from centre Matt Allen after just two minutes when Sale failed to secure possession from their own scrum five metres out.

But Sale hit back with a try from their first serious attack thanks to a superb piece of finishing from England under- 21 international Hanley. Hooker Phil Greening put the 19-year-old winger through the youngster showed exceptional pace to race over.

Both sides were disrupted through injury to key players, with Shane Howarth (Sale) and Matt Dawson (Northampton) undergoing running repairs on the sidelines.

It was in the fourth minute of first-half injury time that Paul Grayson, having spurned three earlier opportunities to kick for goal, put over a penalty from in front of the posts to restore his side's advantage.

Northampton extended their lead eight minutes minutes into the second half but only after O'Cuinneagain had been shown the white card by referee Ashley Rowden after failing to retire from a penalty award.

Saints once more declined to take the three points and the pressure paid off when Rodber sent Lam over for his first try.

Hanley gave Sale renewed hope by collecting a clever chip from scrum-half Richard Smith to race in for his second but Lam took Andy Blythe's pass to cross and he was driven over the line to complete his hat-trick on 62 minutes.

A try from substitute Jan Machacek cut the deficit to 10 points but Grayson made the game safe with a 75th-minute penalty.

Moore brought the biggest cheer of the afternoon with a 50-metre try but Northampton had the last say in injury time when late substitute Dom Malone grabbed the ninth touchdown of a pulsating game.