English Premiership Big Match Review - Northampton Saints 38 - 11 Exeter Chiefs

It must be hard being one of the Saints ‘other’ signings, aside from George North, Alex Corbisiero and Kahn Fotuali’i – especially if you’re only announced after them.  I imagine that it would be like following a Pink Floyd encore with some impromptu jazz flute, or following Ron Jeremy into an orgy.  But there is one positive – nobody is looking at you for heroics and there’s no expectation. 

But the sight of Sam Dickinson rumbling his way towards the line after just 2 minutes with Chiefs tacklers dropping off him like dead flies soon brought him to the forefront of the Saints fans minds.  The colossal behemoth of a number 8 was signed in the summer from Rotherham, and barely an eyebrow was raised – but here he was, dominating proceedings.  From his initial burst, Northampton recycled well and big centre Luther Burrell hauled a fantastic 20 metre pass out to captain and hooker Dylan Hartley, who was loitering with intent on the wing.  Now, with Ken Pisi outside of him and Chiefs fullback Phil Dollman closing in fast, the loose-lipped skipper should have shipped it, but with dollar signs in his eyes and a brutal determination to make amends for his display in the Premiership final, he showed solid pace to just squeeze in at the corner to open the account for his side.

After that blistering start – compounded by a glorious touchline conversion by Myler – Exeter looked to claw their way back into the game, and looked to have made a good start when new signing Tom James hammered his way to within 3 metres of the line and forced Phil Dowson to kill the ball and receive a yellow card for his troubles.  Gareth Steenson made the most of the opportunity, getting 3 points on the board for the visitors.

It proved to be a flash in the pan though, as Dickinson and Courtney Lawes powered their way into Chiefs territory to force a 3 pointer for Myler, before George North stretched his not insignificant legs to thunder 60 metres downhill before being bundled into touch.  But Franklins Gardens didn’t have to wait long for their moment – and what a moment it was.  Dickinson snaffled a loose ball off a lineout and charged up field, before Luther Burrell – an unsung hero himself – bust clean through the middle of the Exeter defence before releasing Ken Pisi.  The younger Pisi still had some work to do, but finished superbly – sidestepping Matt Jess and then palming off Steenson to score in the corner.  Another magnificent Myler conversion made the score 17 – 3 to the Saints.

Unfortunately, there was much worse to come for the visitors, as Ben Foden – courtesy of bamboozling bounce – gathered up his own up-and-under as Dollman failed to gather, before offloading out of the tackle to Tom Wood, who ambled in under the sticks.  A Steenson penalty following good work by the Chiefs pack attempted to stem the flow, but by now it was a tidal wave.  A length of the field move involving strong carries from Ken Pisi and North ended with a lovely show of hands from both Dickinson and Lawes to give George Pisi an easy run into the corner.

After such a manic opening half, it was perhaps to be expected that the hosts – with the bonus point already in the bag – would come out a bit flat.  Everyone, that is, except for Courtney Lawes, who marred his otherwise fine day at the office with a high shot on Jess and earned himself a trip to the sinbin.  It was the Chiefs who now had all the ball and all the territory, but they showed nowhere near the incision of Saints and were generally frustrated by the excellent home defence.  Eventually Exeter did slip through though, with captain Dean Mumm burrowing his way over after Haydn Thomas had gone close.  Although Steenson couldn’t nail the conversion, the try was what the Chiefs’ persistence, if not their execution, deserved. 

It was fitting though that the hosts would have the final word, rumbling over the line in old-school style, with Samu Manoa dotting down for his side’s 5^th try to leave the final score at Northampton 38 11 Exeter.

The man of the match accolade rightly went to the man-brute, Sam Dickinson.  Who knows – maybe this season’s star won’t be the one under the spotlight.
 

Let's see what was happening in the rest of the Premiership during the opening weekend?

Newcastle Falcons 0 - 21 Bath - An Anthony Perenise try and a penalty score in conditions similar to the inside of a washing machine ensured that Dean Richards' and Newcastle's Premiership return was a 'pointless' one

London Irish 20 - 42 Saracens - An easy win for this season's favourites, as they racked up a bonus point through Jamie George (2), Mako Vunipola and Chris Ashton, with relegation suspects Irish picking up a couple of scores through Kieran Low and Marland Yarde

Gloucester 16 - 22 Sale Sharks - Sale cam away with a great win in the shock result of the weekend, with scores from old boy Mark Cueto and new signing Andy Forsyth overturning Henry Trinder's score.

London Wasps 15 - 16 Harlequins - Andy Goode hit the post with a last minute conversion to hand Quins a nail biting win at Twickenham.  Karl Dickson had cancelled out Joe Launchbury's score before Tom Palmer crashed over late on.

Leicester Tigers 32 - 15 Worcester Warriors - The Tigers somewhat stumbled to a bonus point win against a stubborn Warriors side, who crossed for tries through Chris Jones and Joe Matevesi.  The hosts grabbed four tries thanks to Adam Thompstone, David Mele, Jordan Crane and a fabulous late solo effort from Niki Goneva.