Aviva Premiership Big Match Review - Northampton Saints 8 - 36 Leicester Tigers

Northampton v Leicester is always a highlight of the rugby calendar.  Two sides who, even in the professional era, still play as if they truly hate each other’s guts – and it makes for great entertainment.  But these two teams have had cause for frustration lately.  Northampton have been the ‘nearly men’ in the Premiership for the last 5 years – always thereabouts but never actually there, getting into semi-finals and finals without actually winning the gold.  It’s a bad habit to get into – up there with smoking, picking your nose and breaking wind on public transport.  But after their demolition of Wasps the previous week, there was some genuine hope that they might break the cycle this year.

Leicester meanwhile, are in danger of falling into the same trap.  Still big players in the Premiership, they’ve fallen at the final hurdle for the last two years.  It’s hard to think of some of the notorious Leicester guard allowing it to happen, with the likes of Martin Johnson, Richard Cockerill, Neil Back and Martin Corry all known for a ruthlessness that verged on bullying at times, allowing them to dominate opponents time and again.  And that bullying mentality has drifted out of Leicester’s game of late, with a lack of precision underpinning the Tigers’ most recent performances, but they managed to find it again in the most unlikely of places on Saturday – down the M1 at Franklins Gardens.

From the off, the visitors took the game by the scruff of the neck.  Tom Youngs hurled himself through the Saints pack to make the initial dent, before Tom Croft hit a gorgeous line outside Samu Manoa to gallop deep into the Northampton 22, forcing flanker Phil Dowson to flop over on the wrong side to give captain Toby Flood a simple 3 points.  Saints struck back immediately though when Courtney Lawes charged down a Ben Youngs box kick to allow the hosts to pile pressure on the Leicester line, giving Steven Myler an easy penalty shot to even things up.

But this was just a blip.  Though the Tigers didn’t cross for a try in the first 40 minutes, they were starting to dominate in all the key areas – Tom Youngs was hitting his lineouts, whilst Geoff Parling and Croft were getting stuck into Hartley’s throws, Manu Tuilagi was making dents in the midfield and Julian Salvi was a disruptive influence on the floor.  Flood put Tigers ahead on 20 minutes with a well struck kick after Dowson had again infringed, and soon the gap was 6 points following a post-knock on offside after a great break by Niall Morris. 

The crowd were starting to feel the pressure as well, with the hosts consistently starved of possession and territory, but they at least had something to shout about when Dowson and Parling spent a few minutes reacquainting themselves from their Newcastle days on the floor, forcing Wayne Barnes to stop proceedings and administer a stern telling off.  Ominously for Northampton though, the force of nature that is Manu Tuilagi was really starting to motor, playing a major part in the build up to Leicester’s next penalty with a huge hit and steal on Ben Foden, before Courtney Lawes slapped down a Ben Youngs pass to give Flood another 3 pointer and Lawes a trip to the bin.  Tuilagi wasn’t about to let Saints get into halftime without another scare though, this time burning George Pisi on the outside in a 50 metre burst, giving Tigers great field position before Tait wastefully grubbered ahead when there were numbers out to the left.  It spoke volumes that, at 12 – 3 down, Saints wouldn’t have been too disappointed with the scoreline.

Down to 14 men, things didn’t get any for the home side easier after the break.  Leicester came out with the same dominance and purpose that had been on display in the first half, but this time they showed the clinical edge that had been missing during the opening 40 minutes.  Strong charges by Anthony Allen and Julian Salvi gave the visitors good field position, before slick hands from Jordan Crane and Marcos Ayerza put Tuilagi into the corner for an unconverted score.

Saints, to their credit, did their best to claw their way back into the game.  With the crowd finding their voice and bellowing them on, they grabbed a couple of lineouts close to the Leicester line – and the Franklins Garden faithful smelt blood after their utter destruction of the Wasps pack the weekend before.  But this time, they were thwarted as Ed Slater and Tom Croft successfully sacked the first two attempts before Dan Cole wrestled his way onto the ball to force a turnover.  But Saints kept coming, with consistent pressure over the next 5 minutes forcing Niall Morris into a deliberate knock on – for which he received a yellow card – before they finally got their breakthrough, with Myler hitting a great line to go over after Ben Foden had been held up just short.  Tigers down to 14 men, Saints within 9 – game on?  Wrong.  It was game over.

If the Tigers had been playing well before, they then kicked it into overdrive.  Ben Youngs directed a couple of effective charges from substitute Thomas Waldrom and Ed Slater, before Toby Flood span the ball wide to Tuilagi who brushed off Tom May to stroll over the line for his second try.  That try seemed to suck the belief out of the home crowd and, most importantly, out of the players, and for the last quarter the Tigers were utterly rampant.  Firstly Niall Morris went over on the right after a thunderous charge from Logovi’i Mulipola and slick handling from Flood, Salvi and Tait, before Tait hammered the nail into the coffin by picking up a long pass from Youngs to go over following yet another barnstorming gallop from Croft to seal the bonus point.

This wasn’t just a win, this was a statement.  The bullies are back.

What else was occurring across the Premiership grounds on Saturday?

Gloucester 17 – 15 Harlequins:  The Cherry and Whites edged an absolute thriller at Kingsholm on Friday night in a result that sees the champions cast adrift from the home semi-final spots.  The visitors took the lead through tries from Rob Buchanan and Sam Smith before the visitors clawed their way back through second half efforts from Jonny May and Akapusi Qera.

Bath 40 – 25 London Welsh:  Bath picked up a bonus point win but had to work for it as Welsh put up a stubborn resistance.  The hosts got on the board through tries from Matt Banahan, Carl Fearns, Semesi Rokodoguni, Horacia Agulla and Michael Claassens, whilst the visitors grabbed their only try through fullback Seb Jewell.

London Wasps 13 – 22 Saracens:  League leaders Saracens had a scare at London Wasps but came back to keep themselves top of the Premiership pile.  Electric winger Christian Wade put the home side ahead before Sarries struck pack with a pair of 5 pointers from wingers Chris Wyles and Chris Ashton.

Worcester Warriors 18 – 24 Exeter Chiefs:  The Chiefs had to come from behind as the Warriors slumped to a disappointing home defeat at Sixways.  The hosts were in the lead after Matt Kvesic and Josh Drauniniu responded to tries from Luke Arscott and the in-form Gareth Steenson, but Australian Dean Mumm grabbed a late score to win the game.

London Irish 33 – 33 Sale Sharks:  A late Nick Macleod penalty earned a draw for the Sharks in a thrilling game that saw both sides improve their chances of Premiership survival.  The home side scored tries through Guy Armitage, Halani Aulika and Max Lahiff, whilst the visitors picked up a try bonus point with scores from Henry Thomas, Mark Cueto, Kearnan Myall and James Gaskell.