Premiership Review - Leicester Tigers 19 - 19 Northampton Saints

East Midlands derbies are bad for your health.  You almost hope, as a supporter of one of these two sides, that there will just be an easy victory, a nice boring game without incident.  Even when one team wins handsomely, as Tigers did at Franklins Gardens last year, there's still that niggle and aggression that makes each game so compelling to watch.  Of course, these games are usually much tighter and more often than not contain more drama than your average HBO series.  Expectation for Leicester v Northampton, is deservedly high.

With so many classics between these two sides over the years, the crowd were expecting the game to begin with a bang, but perhaps not as literally as seeing Blaine Scully knocked out cold by a swinging arm from Sam Dickinson upon taking the kick off.  The American looked clearly shaken as he left the field, and the long delay took some of the sting out of what surely would have been an explosive opening.

Instead, the game became an arm-wrestle with relatively few line-breaks but, as usual, plenty of incident.  As many have predicted this year, the only potential weak spot for Saints is in the scrum, where they lack an international class tighthead.  Dan Cole and, in particular, Logovi'I Mulipola went to work on the Northampton front row and it earned captain Toby Flood a shot at goal, which he missed.  His opposite number, Stephen Myler, had more success with his own long-range effort though, whilst still doing his incredibly creepy eye-rolling routine. 

Saints then came close to scoring after the Leicester pack marched too quickly in a scrum for their own good, allowing Tom Wood to make a mess of Jordan Crane's ball and allow George Pisi to break.  Although the 5 pointer didn't come, they did earn a penalty – which they turned down to go for the try.  It proved slightly too ambitious though, as the consistently superb Saints pack were matched by the Tigers, who produced some exceptional line-defence. 

Flood, though, managed to even things up with a penalty following the game's first really controversial moment – a yellow card for a supposedly dangerous tackle by Luther Burrell.  The laws on the tackle are now descending into the farcical – Burrell picked up Allen, but he landed squarely on his back.  This was never a dangerous tackle and you can tell that by the non-reaction of the players around him…imagine what punishment Mike Tindall would have received in 2003 for his show-stopping hit on George Gregan?

Despite going down to 14 men, Northampton rallied impressively, as they did in the final back in May.  Myler knocked over a penalty and, once Burrell returned, followed it up with another as Saints began to dominate the contact, with Dickinson and Courtney Lawes carrying particularly strongly and Lee Dickson providing quick ball off the base.  Leicester, on the other hand, were looking out of sorts, with Crane unable to make yardage and Ben Youngs, despite some defensive box-kicking, looking woefully slow.  The hosts were indebted to sharp work at the breakdown from the excellent Ed Slater, who earned Flood the chance to pull 3 points back and send the hosts in at only 3 points down at half time.

It was more of the same upon the resumption however, as the visitors charged forwards and showed all the conviction in attack, with Burrell, George Pisi and Jamie Elliot making good yards.  It got them to within inches of the Tigers' line – prime striking distance for a prop, as Alex Corbisero barged beneath Cole and Tom Youngs to claim the first score of the day.  Myler's impeccable display with the boot continued and Northampton were 10 points up after 10 minutes.

Flood pulled 3 points back for the hosts, but then Dickinson showed his raw power by rampaging over the line with 2 defenders over his back, with only the hand of Ben Youngs and the TMO's decision preventing a try.  Leicester, though, were belatedly beginning to wake up, with the pack finally gaining a foothold in an area other than the set piece.  David Mele, on for Ben Youngs, added impetus to the attack and they should have scored twice when Jordan Crane blew a 2-on-1 with an abysmal pass to Adam Thompstone before Slater knocked ahead with an overlap begging.

The crowd, though, could sense that something was happening and roared the hosts on, with Flood giving them something else to shout about with a penalty following a break by the otherwise butter-fingered Niki Goneva.  The 3 pointer was also partnered by a yellow card for Courtney LAwes for a professional foul and for Louis Deacon for dissent, meaning the game would be played out with 14 men.  But the look in Saints' eyes, as the Tigers surged forwards, had gone from being one of confidence to one of fear.  Flood, who had looked shakey for the first 60 minutes, had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and was probing the corners with wonderful precision and making half-break after half-break to give his side front foot ball.

Eventually, Saints cracked under the pressure – just 4 minutes from time.  Leicester went for the lineout from the penalty and, after a suspiciously crooked throw from Tom Youngs (during an otherwise faultless display) Slater hit a superb line off Mele to crash over and bring the scores level.  There was still time for more drama though, as the Leicester pack, so utterly dominant in the scrum all day, found themselves in a set piece 10 metres from the visitors' line.  They became a victim of their own success though as the scrum surged forward too quickly for Crane to control, and Northampton broke clear.  A stunning counter-attack try seemed to be on the cards for a moment, but the ball was forced into touch.  Game over, 19-19.

Now the dust has settled, everyone has said that Northampton will be the most disappointed.  And rightly so, for the majority of the match it was they who won the contact and the breakdown battle and showed all the flair in attack.  But at the time that whistle went, I can tell you there was relief in the eyes of the Saints players and fans as they held on to a draw after an incredible comeback from the Tigers. 

There's no such thing as a dull East Midlands derby.

Let's see what was happening over the rest of the weekend:

Sale Sharks 19 – 13 Bath:  Sale continued their solid start to the season by teaching the hyped-up Bath side a lesson on Friday night.  Andy Forsyth and the boot of Danny Cipirani did the damage whilst Semesa Rokoduguni claimed a 5 pointer back for the visitors.

London Irish 18 – 13 Harlequins:  Irish picked up another vital win as Quins slumped to their third defeat of the season in Reading.  Blair Cowan and Alex Lewington grabbed tries for the Irish and Danny Care responded with a late effort for Quins.

Saracens 19 – 13 London Wasps:  Saracens struggled and were outscored by Wasps but still came away with a win at fortress Allianz Park.  Will Fraser maked his return from injury with a try but Chris bell grabbed a brace for the visitors.

Worcester Warriors 11 – 16 Newcastle Falcons:  Warriors continued their miserable start to the season with their 5th straight defeat, despite a score by David Lemi.  Veteran scrum half Mike Blair scored the decisive try for the men from up north in another important victory.
 

Gloucester 12 – 29 Exeter Chiefs:  Gloucester were disappointing yet again as they were thumped by a rejuvenated Chiefs side.  The Cherry and Whites did score twice through Martyn Thomas and Jonny May, but the Chiefs pack was dominant and claimed scores through Ben White and Dean Mumm.