This may not be a performance or a victory which will take up too much time on Sale Sharks’ end-of-season highlights reel but in the grand scheme of their season, it is a night which could rank as one of the more important for Alex Sanderson and his men.

It is no secret that the Sharks’ home form has been the bedrock to their success under Sanderson in recent years and that remarkable run in the north continued again here. This was their 25th win in 27 Premiership home games and it breathes fresh life into their pursuit of the playoffs.

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Sale stuttered in the early weeks of the season but as the campaign has settled into a groove, so too have the Sharks. There is work to be done on the road, preferably in time for their trip to Bristol after Christmas given how the Bears dismantled Leicester on Saturday. But at home, the Sharks remain a formidable and near-unbeatable beast.

Here, Sale had to not only navigate a game and physical effort from the league’s bottom side, Exeter, but also horrendous wet and wild conditions which made any sort of enterprising rugby impossible. But the Sharks did enough, scoring twice in each half to pick up a bonus point win and end the night in fourth ahead of Saracens, who play on Sunday. Suddenly, the Sharks are moving in the direction they would have hoped pre-season.

Was it wonderfully compelling viewing? Probably not. But it is a win and that is all that really matters. “I’m happy with the five points,” Sanderson said. “The lads are frustrated we didn’t capitalise on some territory but I’ve told them to enjoy the win and enjoy Christmas.”

With conditions utterly abysmal, Sale were guided to victory by the brilliance of George Ford. Time and time again, with the contest poised, Ford kicked Sale into territory and they took enough of the opportunities which came from those chances to claim all five points.

“He’s just a genius,” Sanderson said of Ford. “When it’s bouncing, slipping and sliding everywhere, it’s that pressure from him that gives us opportunities.”

An early Henry Slade penalty gave the Chiefs a 3-0 lead but by half-time they were 11 points behind having failed to craft any further opportunities. In these conditions, and in this part of the world, that felt like a monumental deficit to overturn and it proved to be the case.

Sale spurned numerous chances to score their first try before a fine move opened up Exeter’s defence to allow Luke James to score. Then, with the break approaching, the Sharks chanced their arm from deep and Tom Carpenter finished his own break on halfway to move the hosts into a 14-3 lead, with Rob du Preez converting both tries.

Given Sale’s dominance at home you felt the first points after the restart would be significant. And despite Exeter marginally improving, with the weather worsening, it was the Sharks who struck a telling blow – with a penalty try not only making it 21-3, but sending the Chiefs captain, Dafydd Jenkins, to the sin-bin in the process.

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That essentially consigned Exeter to an eighth straight defeat to start the season, though they remain within touching distance of Newcastle after their heavy defeat at Bath. Jimmy Roots’ try was, perhaps, the least their effort deserved.

But in the final quarter attention turned to whether Sale could turn four points into five. They duly obliged in the final minutes as Jonny Hill crossed against his former club. Sale are on the up, of that there is no doubt. For the Chiefs, things look increasingly bleak.