Newcastle made the most of their first home game for two months to notch up a valuable victory - only their second in the Zurich Premiership this year - and keep alive their hopes of European Cup football next season.
There was talk beforehand of the clash of the No. 10s with England's Jonny Wilkinson facing his understudy in the national set-up, Charlie Hodgson. In the event it was a non-contest.
Wilkinson finished with 20 points and the man-of-the-match award, Hodgson with nothing. Wilkinson's tally included three first-half penalties - two booming efforts, one from the half-way line, another from a couple of paces inside his own half and a third from a more regulation distance. Then in the second half his jinking run from the Sale 22 saw him score the try that made the game safe. "He's in a rich vein of form," said Newcastle's director of rugby Rob Andrew.
If news of Wilkinson's performance will be music to the ears of the England manager Clive Woodward, then the news from the Sale camp will have struck a discordant note. Jason Robinson did not play, having failed to recover from an abdominal injury, and he must be doubtful for England's Six Nations game against Italy at the weekend.
Sale, third in the league, were also missing five other first-team regulars, yet they still started confidently, opening the scoring with a try by Mark Cueto, the wing being put clear by Mel Deane.
Wilkinson's penalties gave Newcastle the lead at the interval but Sale regained the initiative shortly after it when their forwards drove from a lineout and Bryan Redpath went over for a try.
From then on, though, it was all Newcastle, two tries in five minutes changing the game's course. Firstly Stuart Grimes went over, then Tom May, after feigning to pass, accelerated through a gap to score.
Newcastle: Botham; Stephenson, Noon, May, MacLure; Wilkinson (capt), Charlton (Armstrong, 70); Ward (Peel, 79), Brotherstone, Hurter, Vyvyan, Grimes, Taione, Arnold (Devonshire, 69), Dunbar (Lam, 60).
Tries: Grimes, May, Wilkinson. Cons: Wilkinson 3. Pens: Wilkinson 3.
Sale: Going; Cueto, Deane, Harris (Shaw, 70), Elliott (Hanley, 70); Hodgson, Redpath (capt) (Dickens,75); Yates, Titterrell (Marais, 25), Black (Bone, 75), Fullarton, Giacheri (Whittle, 75), Jones, Wilks, Pinkerton (Parr, 75).
Tries: Cueto, Redpath.
Referee: S Lander (Liverpool). Attendance: 6,512.
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