The
last time Northampton and Gloucester met, it was at Kingsholm Park
last year and a late penalty saw the Cherry and Whites steal the win,
the only loss Northampton have had in the Premiership this season.
But Northampton kept their winning streak on home turf and even
managed to gain the bonus point.
Only
two minutes into the first half and Ken Pisi made a great break
through the Gloucester defence, charging from the half way line to
score under the posts. What a start!
But
only minutes later, an interception from Henry Trinder saw him
running three-quarter's of the pitch to score an equally impressive
try at the other end. No-one was under any illusion then. Gloucester
were here intent on breaking Northampton's winning run.
Even
though points were on the board for both sides, it was an extremely
poor first half. Careless mistakes cost Gloucester as they spent a
large portion of time defending in their own 22. And although
Northampton looked composed in the first couple of minutes, it looked
as if their eager eyes were their down fall, with the likes of Kahn
Foutali'i giving some weak, inaccurate passes off the back of the
ruck and James Wilson kicking straight into touch ... twice,
preventing play from progressing.
Anyone
would've thought the ball was a hot potato; the amount of quick panic
passes played all over the pitch, which had both sides scrambling for
possession. There was a sense of unnecessary urgency when composure
and patience were critical but the battle kept both sides level
pegging.
Neither
side showed any clinical phases of play and poor handling errors led
to careless penalties; this made for a very frantic game.
Realistically,
Northampton should have been bossing the 9th placed
Gloucester pack but it was proving a beefy battle. Gloucester had
obviously analysed Northampton's game plan and they looked intent on
playing a lot of running rugby to match Northampton's tactics and it
was working.
Were
the Saints a little lack-lustre or were they warming up still? In
the first half, their set play was stuck in the doldrums, especially
when poor handling errors saw Ken Pisi passing to thin air.
Dare
I say it, the Premiership leaders were looking out of sorts, sloppy
and passive. Their clinical performance would need to be stepped up
a gear if they were to win and with Samu Manoa on for the injured GJ
Van Velze just short of half time, could he be the game changer
Northampton needed?
HT
13-10
Soon
after the restart, Northampton rang the changes with Ben Foden
igniting the crowd on his return from injury and Lee Dickson and Alex
Waller also coming off the bench. The strength, depth and experience
of these players, along with the youthful composure of Tom
Stephenson, Will
Hooley and Ethan Waller were just what was needed to set Northampton
up from here on in and a superb run of tries saw Gloucester's
gumption and fight flounder.
Photo by Alf Parry
The
first of four tries came from Calum Clark who stretched out full
length over the line. But it was a further three tries in fourteen
minutes that gave the Saints crowd what they came for! An awesome
score from Tom Stephenson started it, as he ripped through the
Gloucester defence. Great to see the Academy player face up to the
likes of Mike Tindall and showcase his ability and confidence.
Gloucester's
Will James was sin-binned with six minutes to go and this proved
beneficial to Northampton as Alex Waller and the forwards pack
crossed the line with a rolling maul to drive the Saints over. Will
Hooley then backed up the bonus point to seal the deal and take
Northampton back up to the top of the table. But they definitely
didn't make it easy for themselves.
The
second half of this game eventually erupted into something very
special. Even though Mike
Tindall had an exceptional game, cutting through the defence on
several occasions and running a great line at pace, Gloucester looked
very tired in the last quarter and didn't fulfil their own
expectations which in turn, played into Northampton's hands.
My
Man of the Match was the Saints Academy player Tom Stephenson, who
enjoyed an excellent 80 minute performance. Afterwards he told me
that patience had been the key:
“In
the first half we were trying to force the passes,” he said. “In
the second half we were a lot more patient, kept the ball and took our chances.”
Jim
Mallinder told me:
“The
replacements did a really good job, looking after the ball and
continuing to apply pressure. We're in a fortunate position. You
need an experienced core of players and to then bring in some of the
younger lads to play amongst that is the right thing to do.”
Gloucester
definitely put up a fierce fight in the first-half and they looked
like a well drilled and developed side compared to earlier this
season. But when you head to Franklins Gardens, you can't expect
anything less than a physical battle and they just couldn't manage to
hold out.
A
deserved win for Northampton but only just.
FT 39-13
2
mins try Ken Pisi conv. Stephen Myler 7-0
9
mins try Henry Trinder conv. Freddie Burns 7-7
20
mins penalty Myler 10-7
23
mins penalty Burns 10-10
40
mins penalty Myler 13-10
HT
13-10
47
mins penalty Burns 13-13
57
mins try Calum Clark conv. Myler 20-13
66
mins try Tom Stephenson conv. Myler 27-13
76
mins try Alex Waller conv. Myler 34-13
78
mins try Will Hooley 39-13
FT
39-13