Following Sale Sharks 28-10 win over Exeter Chiefs, here are our five key takeaways from an enthralling game at the Salford Community Stadium.

The top line

Exeter ventured to the North West looking to bring some Christmas cheer back to Sandy Park, but it was going to be a hard ask against a Sale side who had only lost twice at home in two years.

The visiting Devonians took the lead early doors through the boot of Henry Slade, but it was just one-way traffic after that as the hosts set the tempo.

Alex Sanderson’s side dominated much of the possession and territory in the opening exchanges, and they made this count as Luke James crossed the whitewash. They could easily have had more too, had their lineout worked.

Exeter could have pulled back to within one point, however, Slade’s penalty sailed wide after getting caught in the wind. Sale quickly rubbed salt into this wound too as Joe Carpenter grabbed his side’s second of the evening after a spot of good fortune.

Conditions took their toll on the second-half, but that didn’t halt Sale’s dominance and they extended their lead through a penalty try.

The visitors did hit back with one of their own through Jimmy Roots, but this was nothing more than a consolation as Sale came straight back with the bonus-point try.

Sale now jump up to fourth in the table, while Exeter still languish at the bottom.

Sale building?

This win wasn’t even one for the purists, but yet it shows just how much Sale are coming on this season.

Sale’s DNA has been hard work and grit, but today they showed they can adapt their gameplan mid-game to then get the upper hand. Early doors, Sale looked to play that bit wider, and it somehow worked, but when the conditions set in they changed tactics. Wicked spirals from George Ford – who flipped the game on its head at time – piled pressure onto the Chiefs back three, and it led to more forced errors and getting field position off that.

Later in the game, they then changed tactics and charge through the Exeter forwards with relative ease.

A key thing to take away from this game is their game management, led by mastermind George Ford. That ability to change tactics almost at will just proves they can adapt to different things to then still get a result, and this is such an important s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 as they look to make a charge for the top four.

As a result of getting the bonus point – something that has alluded them in the past – they now move level on points with forth-placed Saracens and Gloucester, and they could be a dark horse to make the playoffs too.

We’ve all seen what Sale can do when they get a bit of momentum, after all they finished third last year despite their torrid start, and could this be the sign they could go on another run?

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso injury

England ace Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was pulled off early doors after an awkward landing on his shoulder, and the fact he was later seen in a sling will leave Steve Borthwick with sleepless nights ahead of the Six Nations.

The Exeter winger, who turned 22 yesterday, made his Test debut earlier this year, and has quickly become one of England’s best performers with five tries in his nine caps to date. His form has also earned him a nomination for World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year and is certainly in contention for a call-up to the British and Irish Lions this summer.

This is another blow to the England back-three too, with George Furbank also set for a spell on the sidelines.

Conditions take their toll

It was just a really scrappy game for the most part, but it was absolutely down to the conditions in the North West.

As mentioned above, Sale dominated much of the early stages and should have had more than seven points to say for it too, but they were just error-strewn throughout. Their lineout misfired at pivotal points too, with the Sharks posting an 86% success rate in the first-half, and this cost them precious points. In attack, they lacked that accuracy they have become known for, and that limited them to a pretty basic, direct approach.

Exeter also came up with some errors, with the lineout also being a critical issue for them as well with just a 67% success rate, and again this meant they couldn’t make the most of their limited chances.

Around this too, the game just became a battle of kicking as the teams looked to force their opponents into making errors. This was a clever tactic given the weather, but yet again it just 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed any chance of this game being a good watch.

The argument for summer rugby has never been stronger after this game…

Where do Exeter go from here?

This is the eighth-straight defeat in the Premiership for Exeter now, but in a change from their recent losses, they just looked comfortably second-best throughout.

Exeter had made a point that they were improving, and in fairness they have actually been improving as the weeks go by. There were visible signs of change in their defeats to both the Sharks and Toulouse in the Champions Cup, despite the heavy scorelines in both, but this just seemed like such a huge backwards step from Rob Baxter’s men.

Yes, the conditions hampered things, but it wasn’t like Sale had bright sunshine. In attack, Exeter just seemed genuinely devoid of any ideas other than to just hit a pod of forwards steaming into contact, but this didn’t work. Elsewhere, the lineout simply failed and the scrum was hit-and-miss. So why go through the forwards when they’re not on top?Discipline was a major issue too. Exeter copped two yellow cards in the 80 minutes, and also conceded a whopping 18 penalties throughout the game. This simply isn’t good enough to compete at the top level, and it again shows the MAJOR step back they’ve taken this week.

With the manner of the defeat tonight, you start to where they actually go from here.