Ninth placed Newcastle Falcons were the
underdogs going into this Premiership battle against Northampton but they were
in full fighting spirit and definitely not to be underestimated as it took an hour before Northampton scored a try. Newcastle fought hard but Saints dug deep to take the win.
There was an air of
expectation for Northampton to perform on home turf and get a bonus point from
this game - it was the talk of the town but Saints fans were to be sorely disappointed. Even though Tom Collins set off his debut
with a break in the 3rd minute, there was little else to rave about
first half.
Northampton spent the first
10 minutes struggling for a try in Newcastle's 22 but they just couldn't manage
to break such a tight defence. A couple
of penalties were awarded to Northampton and Myler made the decision to kick
for touch repeatedly and unfortunately the team just weren't cutting the
mustard and driving the pack forward.
When the Falcons managed to gain possession
they looked dangerous. It was ex-Saints
player Noah Cato who ripped through the poor Northampton defence bringing the
phase of play 5m from the try line in Northampton's territory. Apart from a fantastic hit from Luther
Burrell after 17 minutes, Saints were looking tired and needed to wake up and
shape up!
To make things worse, the scrum wasn't
proving to be advantageous either but a determined Dickson won the ball and
James Wilson kicked the ball to touch. And
so there were still no points on the score board after 20 minutes and it was
the feisty Falcons who showed flare and good passages of play. Noah
Cato, once again, proved deadly with his angles of attack.
Burrell made a break within the 27th
minute but dropped the ball short of the try line. A scrum was awarded to the
Falcons 5m out but Northampton luckily won it back. Then as Carlo Del
Fava was Sin Binned in the 29th minute, Myler made his move and put Northampton's
first points on the board, 3-0. At last!!
Surely Saints were about to make their mark
as Newcastle were down to fourteen men? But
they continued to prove too passive and shapeless in their play and when a chip
and chase from Collins backfired – enabling Newcastle to break through the
defence and gain ground, I actually began to doubt if Saints could win the
game. Then a mistake from the Falcons saw Saints
back in their territory but even then, the Saints’ backs were lax, over running
the ball and for some reason Haywood and Day found themselves out on the wing. Where was
Northampton’s strategic game play going?
….. drastically down hill!
Saints were awarded another penalty which was
kicked by Myler in the 36th minute taking the half time score to 6-0
but their play was not impressive at all for a 2nd placed premiership team.
There was a sense of shock and disappointment
as the crowd were frustrated by what they had witnessed first half. Where were the team who had put 40 odd
points on Saracens earlier this month? More
to the point, where was their unity and ability to shine as a team? Or was the referee preventing Northampton
from playing the fast paced rugby we are so very used to?
You would've thought Northampton could’ve
changed their tactics for the second half? No!!
It took until the 60th minute for a Northampton try to surface
as James Wilson belted down the wing, 11-0, but with Myler's kick just short
and unable to convert, Northampton were still totally out of sorts and
unsafe. They weren't striding ahead or
creating real opportunities and it definitely wasn't a comfortable lead. Could their momentum change now that Wilson
had scored?
At this juncture, Ben Foden was taken off
with a hamstring injury and replaced by Dom Waldouck. Newcastle's defence was caught off-guard as
Alex Waller drove over the ruck, enabling Waldouck to score the try. This took an age for the TMO to decide and a
much needed, well-judged and light hearted announcement was made that Strictly
Come Dancing was to be set back by ten minutes. Well everyone had to have something to look
forward to! Try awarded and then converted
by Myler in the 64th minute.
With fourteen minutes to go, the Newcastle
bench had been emptied and even though Northampton had their fair share of
changes too, it was the Falcons who had shown real glimpses of flair and
creativity but unfortunately knock-ons prevented them from making an impact
performance.
Full time score, 18-0.
For me, Wilson had been the proactive player with
foresight and flourish and certainly deserved ‘Man of the Match’. His ability to cut though a solid defence and
out run his opposition shows pure dogged willpower and determination as an
athlete.
Northampton were always going to under
perform at some point but one wouldn't have thought it would be at a home game
to a 9th placed premiership side. So what went wrong? We
witnessed at least 2 high tackles that were left un-penalised but was the real
problem the lack of Saint's focus and fluidity?
Whatever your own judgement may be, let's
hope Northampton's form can re-appear and secure a satisfying and convincing away
win to Worcester next week.