SAINTS BRING 4 ACTS TO STONEX

As this was to be my last live game of the season, come what may, I arrived early, looking forward to a lively, well-contested game.  After all, Saints hold the distinction of being the most successful premiership visitors to the fortress on the hill at Barnet, are on a good run of wins, have the urgent desire to avenge their home loss in this season’s competition and must take points as they seek to secure a play-off place that before kick-off remains uncertain.  Equally, Sarries know full well that a home semi-final is a most valuable prize to secure at this stage of the competition: few home semi-finalists lose their games to get to the final.

The sun is shining, the wind seems a bit variable and the crowd seems to be more animated than usual.  There has to be some wonder about the probable outcome of a sub plot.  Referee Matthew Carley does not like back chat nor moaning, so we have a question: which of two moaning captains will irritate him first and most?

The first Act within the game open with Promise as its theme.  Sarries are sharp, eager and dominant.  Perhaps they are too eager, because several passages that could, and would normally, have ended in tries are spoiled by poor final execution.  Passes are inaccurate or are dropped, moves run out of momentum.  Saints are working hard, but at the cost of a long string of penalties, on two occasions a little too hard, and at 17 minutes the only scores are two penalties converted by Owen Farrell for a 6-0 lead.  The period highlights are right at the end when a determined Saints passage is blocked three time in two minutes by momentum-shifting tackles made by Nick Isiekwe, looking at his destructive best during much of this game.

Act two, Frustration, opens with Saints pressure, Alex Goode calling a good mark from a slightly over-long kick. Taking the free kick without delay, he is tackled by Saints lock Coles, who has not retired and so earns a yellow card, being the offence immediately following a “Next penalty is yellow” warning.  Two minute later, Coles is joined by Saints captain Ludlum.  A reckless dive into an attempt to clear Owen from a ruck brings his shoulder in the latter’s head, perhaps a harsh yellow, but clearly a dive in without care, so perhaps not.  So, for eight minutes, 10% of the entire game, Sarries will have a two-man advantage.  Can they take advantage?  Of course they cannot, and indeed Saints, scoreless themselves can be  very satisfied with their work, pressing for advantage themselves for a good part of this time.  At one moment, Alex is able to make another good mark under pressure, but his free kick from it has great distance but no height, giving the Saints division the easy option to do nothing but watch the ball roll just an inch or so over the dead ball line.  Coles returns, and now 14-man Saints exert more pressure, giving Biggar a comfortable option to take three points.  6-3 for the moment, but as half-time approaches, and Saints might be hoping to hold on and re-group, a simply brilliant line run by Saints winger Freeman, which Biggar converts, sees Saints leading 6-10.  An on-the gong penalty claws back three, but Saints will go in as leaders, 9-10 probably deservedly.

After the break, Act three, Fulfilment.  The prawn sandwich brigade of the Fez Club combine paying the most for their match-day, will the least ability to be back in their seats at kick-off, so some miss a slick interchange under the Saints posts that leaves Tompkins with a free scamper in for an easy 7-pointer.  16-10.  A replay shows that Saints prop Paynter has failed to number up on the marking and left a gap that cannot be filled by others.  Moments after the restart, a scrappy breakdown brings Painter in at the side, for a soft penalty that takes Sarries to within the Saints half.  From the line-out some slick passing puts Rotimi Segun into space, not that he ever seems to need much of that, from which Alex Lewington scores.  23-10.  Painter may be a formidable scrummager, not that he seemed to be getting any change in that part of his work, where Mako Vunipola had him firmly under control, but his open play did not impress today.  The phase ends with renewed pressure on the Saints line, an insanely optimistic clearance from the base of the ruck by scrum-half Mitchell, charged by Theo McFarland, caught by him and dotted down. 28-10

The fourth Act repeats many of the themes of the earlier ones, and might be called Relief.  It opens with a penalty by reversal, Nick Tompkins’ actions after an offence turning a scrum to Sarries into a penalty to Saints.  Daly fails to gather cleanly and Saints have a 5-metre scrum.  I leads to a slick passage throught the hands of their back division and a much-needed 7-pointer.  At 28-17, Saints cannot be said to be looking for a win, but they are certainly looking for at least one point to carry up the M1.  Smiles are about to be proved somewhat premature.  At the hour, a Saints move is over-hurried, ten metres inside Sarries half. Theo is on hand to snatch the smallest of opportunities to intercept, and then has a mere four defenders to get past before setting off for the corner flag.  He has speed, but this is a big ask.  In the end his basketball skills are the margin.  Transferring the ball to his outer, right hand, he draws the last Saints defender on and on, and as the tackle is launched, dives high and inwards, touching the ball down, pointy-end first as the tackle just fails to divert his moment of movement.  This has to be one of the tries of the season, anywhere.  Owen does his thing and the score has opened out again, 35-17.   Saints are rocked now and with13 minutes to go we see two brilliant players combine to produce an astonishing fifth try for Sarries.  Owen draws two defenders, threads a small grubber through the smallest of gaps, where Alex Goode, calling the play, slides round, collects, eludes three more defenders and scores.  All of this within an area about ten metres by four.  Sublime skills, a reminder of what England lost by preferring brawn to brain.  42-17 

As in all good dramas, on 70 minutes, Saints are down, dead, buried and with a stake through their hearts.  As we go into the final ten minutes, Sarries are already at the burial wake, eating the funeral meats and drinking the party wine.  However, the burial proves premature.  In ten minutes, Saints force their way out of the coffin, surge upfield three times and score each time, Biggar converting each.  Final score 42-38.  Sarries have their home semi-final, Saints have now two points rather than. one to take home. 

Owen is named Man of the Match. Others might name-check Mako, Aled Davies or Nick Isiekwe.  I would disagree with none. 

The refereeing team had a good game, kept it flowing, controlled any tendencies to get into handbags or disputes, and we all understood what was happening with his calls.  Kelly Brown was his usual imperturbable voice of the Sarrries coaching group, Saints scrum coach lost that head-to-head.  The brass section of the Sarries Symphony Orchestra provided suitable Wagnerian interpositions, and the sun shone throughout.  And to round out the day, I tried the chicken pies in the Olympic Bar – excellent.  My live game watching is done for this season.  I’ve seen less than I would have liked, have enjoyed the company of those in the seats around and yesterday bumped into the family alongside whom I enjoyed during many early seasons before I changed my perch.  For what more could a normal, rugby-happy grandfather ask?

Saracens: Goode; Lewington, Daly, Tompkins, Segun; Farrell (capt), Davies; M Vunipola, George, Koch; Itoje, Isiekwe; McFarland, Earl, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Lewis, Adams-Hale, Clarey, Hunter-Hill, Wray, Van Zyl, Lozowski, Taylor.

Northampton Saints: Furbank; Freeman, Proctor, Dingwall, Skosan; Biggar, Mitchell; Iyogun, Haywood, Painter; Coles, Ratuniyarawa; Lawes, Hinkley, Ludlam (capt).

Replacements: Matavesi, Waller, Hill, Moon, Nansen, James, Hutchinson, Francis.

Sin-bin: Alex Coles (23), Lewis Ludlum (25)

Referee: Matthew Carley