Premiership Review - Northampton Saints 23 - 19 Leicester Tigers

Saints v Tigers games are so...predictable.  They’ll be tries, last minute scores, fights, cards and bone-shuddering hits.  Every time.  But the result, these days, isn’t the Leicester favoured certainty it once was.  And with Leicester playing two international-quality tests against Toulon compared to a couple of training runs for Northampton against Treviso, there was a feeling that a less-than-classic Tigers side might be able to nick a result against the reigning champions.

It was Saints, though, who got off the most promising start, when a quick tap off a penalty by Kahn Fotuali’i got the previously solid-looking Leicester defence back-peddling and, after Luther Burrell had surged to within a metre of the line, only an excellent opportunistic steal from Ben Youngs helped to relieve the pressure.  Leicester then began to exert their own pressure in response and, although it was less spectacular, it was just as effective – the Tigers scrum dismantling the Saints pack to win penalties and Ben Youngs playing field position with great precision.  But it was from a rare foray into the wider channels that the first real piece of drama came along – and what a piece of drama it was.

After Leicester had turned over ball, with Julian Salvi angering home players and fans by going off his feet at a ruck (although JP Doyle did not believe it was a ruck), Niki Goneva and Anthony Allen made good yardage down the left.  As Dylan Hartley came into to snaffle the scrum half and slow down the quick ball – for which he was penalised – Matt Smith came charging in to clear the England man out of the way, powerfully but fairly.  The whistle then went for the penalty, but with Smith holding on and being a nuisance, Hartley brainlessly swung his elbow back into Smith’s face.  The Leicester man went down a bit theatrically, for which he must be criticised, but that falls into insignificance frankly compared to Hartley’s idiocy.  For a man who has just signed a new Northampton contract, who captains his club and has captained England, this was entirely reckless and irresponsible.  Several replays later, and the Saints captain had a red card.  And the East Midlands derby had its first victim – and a deserved one.  But, as it transpired, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to the hosts, even though Tom Stephenson was sacrificed to allow Mike Haywood to take the spot at hooker.

But it didn’t look that way immediately.  As mentioned above, that bright orange pack was causing some damage in the set piece, with Dan Cole looking particularly impressive given his time out of the game, and the Leicester scrum smashed their opponents back to earn a penalty try, converted by Owen Williams.  It was looking ominous for hosts once again, against their bitterest rivals.

But something stirred in the hosts, a determination to prove that there is indeed a new order in the East Midlands, and two Stephen Myler penalties - the second after the otherwise impressive Tom Croft was harshly sin-binned for a high tackle on Saints wing Ken Pisi - brought the home side back to 7-6 behind by half-time.

And with Croft still off, Saints went ahead for the first time after cleverly recycling possession, and Waller, who scored a dramatic late try to secure Premiership title glory for Northampton at Saracens' expense seven months ago, touched down on the left after selling Miles Benjamin a great dummy.  Full-back James Wilson missed the conversion attempt - Myler was off receiving treatment after being hit by a high Smith tackle - but Northampton had put down a marker with the game still at 14-a-side. 

Croft returned and Leicester took a time to weather the storm, yet they hit back after 61 minutes when replacement fly-half Freddie Burns, who took over from Smith as Williams moved out one position, made a sharp break before Niki Goneva touched down under little pressure. Williams could not add the conversion, but Tigers took a 12-11 advantage that lasted just four minutes as Myler's brilliant pass highlighted a slick handling move that was finished off by Ben Foden, the England man showing an impressive turn of pace to escape the despairing grasps of the covering Ben Youngs.

Back came Leicester, though, through Goneva's second try that was sparked by his fellow wing Benjamin's superb burst down the left, converted by Burns, yet Saints were not to be denied and they administered the killer blow 3 minutes from full time.  Northampton yet again somehow managed to outflank their opponents, despite being a man short, with Jamie Elliott administered the finishing touch of a great move.

Saints clung on to the ball to see out the clock, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this was the most impressive display of the season. A man down, they still dominated possession and played by far the most expansive rugby, with the likes of George North and Luther Burrell hammering fantastic lines into the heart of the Tigers’ defence. Dylan Hartley may be on the naughty list, but Saints will be enjoying a very happy Christmas.