Saracens v Northampton Saints Prem Cup Match Report

Grease lighting

Sometimes the cliche is just too apt to avoid, so in the words of the late great Jimmy Greaves “it’s a game of two halves”.  The final score of Saracens 96 - Northampton 42 might not seem too surprising looking at the two teamsheets, but I don’t think I have ever seen a game quite like it. With a total of 20 tries, 2 (I think) yellow cards and a move to uncontested scrums there was a heck of a lot going on. I have tried my best to detail what happened across the game but other recollections may vary!  

First Half

Sarries started pretty well and picked up the early momentum. A couple of penalties got us up the field and with a tap and go 5m out. A good initial carry from Barbeary was followed up by Brantingham and we were over for the opening score within the first 10 minutes.

Saints almost hit straight back after a sloppy restart from us (this was to become a recurring theme) but some solid defence forced a knock on just as their player looked to be over the line.

Sarries had their second around 5 minutes later. Hartley put in a lovely looped mis pass to Elliott who raced off down his wing. His ball back inside was almost batted back by the defender but Hall managed to pluck it out of the air and went over.

So far, so good. However, another poor restart drill saw Tizard making a tackle from an offside position which allowed Saints to build pressure and grab their first of the day.

Roti looked to have a walk in but a slightly overcooked crossfield kick from Max went straight into touch. However, the captain on the day made amends shortly after with a lovely break which put Segun in at the corner. 

At this point we seemed to think a straight forward victory was on its way and there was a noticeable drop in intensity across the team. Saints then hit us with three scores in a row to take a 9 point lead into half time. Some more forward power for the first, a lovely step and pop to put Pater through a gap for the second and, for the third, an awkward bounce of the ball was gratefully received by a Saints player who fed the 17 year old Will Catley to go under the sticks.

In between the scores, on just about the 30 minute mark, we also lost Street to injury. It didn't seem too serious and hopefully the Sarries management were just looking to protect our top tighthead. 

As we trooped off for half time refreshments, after one final attacking line out had come to nothing for our lads, the mood was distinctly downbeat.

Second Half

Hadfield, O’Driscoll, James and Va’enuku came on for the start of the second half but it seemed more like every black shirt was filled by a different player then the 20 minutes before half time. Never has it been more obvious that the proverbial teacups had been sent flying during half time than this game. The intensity was up, players were actually talking to each other, with a significant shift in volume, and gone were the speculative offloads and sloppy hands of the first half. We also shifted Isiekwe to be the main restart catcher and solved that issue in one fell swoop.

Early pressure and some solid carries saw O’Driscoll put through a gap to get one back. Roti then grabbed his second, powering over the line off the back of an attacking line out, and we were back ahead 4 minutes into the second half. Some more good hands put Segun away down the left wing, who fed the ball back inside to James to get his first for the club. Va’enuku then hit a lovely line off James to streak through a gap, before showing some serious wheels to run in under the posts. 5 minutes later Malins jinxed and muscled over after some more sustained pressure on the Saints line. Suddenly we were 26 points up and flying.

Jack Bracken was the next to show just why everyone is so excited about the youngsters coming through. He calmly collected a Saints chip over the top, swerved past 3 defenders and sped away through a gap to touch down without anyone laying a finger on him. The social media team have clipped it up on the Saracens channels and it is well worth seeking out.

At some point in between this blitz of tries Northampton lost their second loosehead to injury. The game therefore went to uncontested scrums and they had to lose a man. To be honest I can't quite remember when this happened but it was definitely when we were already well on top as I remember remarking what a shame it was that they had to lose a player - a sentiment I would only express when the result is in the bag!

More scores followed with Elliott getting in on the action and Jack Bracken picking up his second. Saints hit back and took a drop kick conversion, seemingly they thought the comeback was on. This was swiftly put to bed when Jack completed his hattrick a minute later and Hall got a second shortly after. There was a final score for the away side but again we hit straight back with Elliott giving Michelow a run in with a lovely ball back inside.

Sarries weren’t done quite yet. A ball over the top was heading for Elliott in acres of space for a run to the line. A desperate flap from the final defender prevented it reaching the target. Deliberate knock on, yellow card and penalty try. In the dieing seconds we hoofed the ball downfield and the race was on. Elliott got there first but was tackled before he could get away. We managed to recycle but some desperate defending by Ainsworth-Cave at the breakdown saw him also receive a yellow for killing the ball. James tapped quickly and got the ball to Hall out wide. It looked like he had snuck in at the corner to bring up the 100, but the touch judge wasn’t playing ball and flagged for a foot in touch to end the game.

Overall a slightly bonkers game and a hard one to make too many judgements based on due to the gulf in experience between the two sides. However, the main stand out points for me were: