Sarries Suffer Quins Hangover As Saints Bounce Back....

I always enjoy a visit to Saints – nice town, good pubs, good stadium and I’ve never really experienced the latent hostility that some complain about and, having driven up in the morning, the Brownes were in good spirits as there was plenty of time for a leisurely lunch at our hotel, a stroll round the town and a few pre-match pints at Jimmy’s sports bar not too far from Cinch Stadium at Franklins Gardens (as I believe it’s called these days).   Sarries had made a number of changes to the squad that pasted Quins, with Jamie George and Marco Riccioni starting in the front row, Nick Isiekwe joining Theo McFarland in an athletic-looking second row, and Juan Martin Gonzalez starting while Ben Earl took his place on the bench.     The number of travelling Sarries had been reduced from the usual very high turnout by the planned transport restrictions over Easter weekend but there was still a good showing - and in good voice - as the game kicked off.   

Our hopes of Sarries coming out of the traps with the sort of fast start that wreaked havoc at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium six days ago were quickly dashed as Saints set about their task with urgency and energy, and it was no surprise at all when the home side notched up the first score of the game after only 5 minutes when a clever bit of play from Smith (to my mind the better England prospect of the two young Smudgers) set Coles free to exploit a gap in the Sarries defence to plant the pill over the line and send the Franklins Gardens faithful into raptures; creator turned converter and it was 7-0.

 Billy of all people got the black end red contingent briefly excited with a stunning kick to peg back Saints’ defence but the ball was cleared and we sat down again.

 6 minutes later, Saints’ good start paid further dividends when Sleightholme exposed  another chink in Sarries’ armour and put Ramm (surely a name more befitting a prop than a full-back) in to  dot down; a TMO check followed, the try was given, and another Smith conversion took matters to 14-0.

It was already looking like it could be a long night for Sarries, as by 17 minutes it was 17-0 following a Smith penalty.

At last Sarries stirred themselves, and the imposing figure of McFarland  got us back in the fight when he charged down a Saints kick close to their 22 and raced over the line, Farrell adding the extras for 17-7 and as the first quarter of the game ended our hopes had risen a bit.

On 24 minutes the gap had narrowed to within a converted try when after a good spell of Sarries pressure, Farrell landed at penalty for 17-10.   

Sarries appeared to have weathered the early storm and chased the game down for the rest of the first half – unfortunately missing opportunities to both level the score and even take the lead  with first Gonzalez having a pass intercepted and then Tompkins losing the ball forward as he was in the act of scoring.

Gonzalez left the field shortly before the end of the half - hopefully not injured – to be replaced by Earl.

Still 17-10 at the break, then, but our spirits had been lifted somewhat by Sarries’  performance in the latter stages of the half, and who was to know what a half-time talking-to could do.

Saints, as they demonstrated at StoneX earlier in the season and again in this match, are the most-improved side in the league this season – edging out a Fin Russell-fuelled Bath -  combining as they do genuine attacking menace with a formidable defensive set-up reminiscent of Brad Barritt-era Sarries.

The first half to my mind felt like Sarries were suffering a post-Quins hangover, having perhaps left a lot of energy and emotion on the Tottenham pitch, while conversely Saints were reacting in exactly the way their coaches would hope to that hammering by Bristol.  

Still, we’d made inroads back into the game.

Sarries began the second half like a team that had received a firm and frank message from the coaches and within 3 minutes a Smith error in kicking to touch with the ball going out  “on the full” gave Sarries a line out deep into Saints’ half with an ensuing penalty, again successfully landed by Farrell, edged us to within 4 points at 17-13 and it was game on….or so we thought…..

Sarries’ head of steam dissipated within 3 minutes when after a quick penalty Ramm found a gap once more in Sarries’ uncharacteristically porous defensive set-up and notched up his second score with Smith stretching Saints’ lead to 24-13, with his second penalty of the game, 5 minutes later, making it 27-13 .

Dan, now on for George, and looking determined to commit his renowned energy to Sarries’ cause, got our hearts racing  with a surging run to the line, but Saints were able to clear the danger after turning the ball over.

It wasn’t too long though before Sarries did get back on something like terms when on 56 minutes a Daly kick caused anxiety in the Saints defence and a hasty clearance was charged down by our other ball of energy, Earl, who then emulated McFarland’s first half try with Farrell taking the score to a more manageable 27-20 with a quarter of the game to play.

Not long after, Lewington was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, with  Saints taking advantage through a Freeman try and conversion from Smith to take their lead back to 14 points on 34-20.

On 68 minutes, the game looked beyond even Sarries when the excellent Sleightholme picked up an interception from a poor Farrell pass and ran through most of the Sarries half to score, Smith piling on the agony for with his fifth conversion for a 41-20 scoreline.

Farrell looked crestfallen as he left the pitch shortly afterwards.

Sarries kept plugging away, partly out of pride and partly in the hope of salvaging a try bonus point and, in the dying minutes an always hard-working Lewington ensured we wouldn’t leave entirely empty-handed:

With barely a minute left on the clock, a crossfield kick from Goode, who’d earlier replaced Daly,  set the other Alex up to go over in space, and then at the very death with Saints either tiring or feeling that their work was done – perhaps even both – Lewington was on the end of some interplay from the restart scampered over, and although neither try was successfully converted (at the cost of a second point, as it turned out), some dignity was restored in addition to what in such a tightly contested league this season could prove  be a handy point.

I don’t think many sides would have lived with Saints in that form, and they must be favourites to lift the Premiership trophy in June – I’d like to think Sarries will have some say in matters, but with so many sides vying for the top four and every point at a premium now, a home semi-final looks far less certain than in the two successful seasons since our return to the Premiership, and in such a competitive climate even a top four place will feel like something of an achievement; we also have to face the reality that Sarries is a club going through a period of transition and while there is no doubt - not in my mind anyway - that the future is extremely bright, we need to accept a (comparatively) challenging present.   

TEAMS:

Northampton: Ramm; Freeman, Odendaal, Dingwall, Sleightholme; Smith, James; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Moon, Coles, Lawes, Pearson, Augustus.

Replacements: Matavesi, Waller, Prowse, Mayanavanua, Ludlam, Graham, McParland, Litchfield.

Sarries: Daly; Maitland, Cinti, Tompkins, Lewington; Farrell, Van Zyl; M Vunipola, George, Riccioni, McFarland, Isiekwe, Gonzalez, Christie, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Dan, Mawi, Judge, Tizard, Willis, Earl, Simpson, Goode.

Referee: Luke Pearce.