Guinness Premiership Round 14

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS v NEWCASTLE FALCONS

Franklin's Gardens 13th February KO 3pm

Saints 25 Falcons 13

Emma Brooker

Two tries from Chris Ashton helped the Saints see off Newcastle, the only side to win at the Gardens in living memory (well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean), taking the home side to second in the league, just one point behind leaders Saracens.

Most seasoned Saints fans breathed a sigh of relief as the teams ran out, the terror of last week forgotten - we were playing the right way! 

The game started in promising fashion for the home side, as the Saints won the ball from a Falcons scrum.  Soon after, the Saints found themselves in possession in their own 22, with Phil Dowson, captaining the Saints against his former club, running the ball towards the halfway line.  He and Clarke exchanged passes, and eventually the Saints were awarded a penalty which another former Falcon, Lee Dickson, took quickly.  Reihana and Myler take the ball forward, and Paul Diggin found a gap, making his way in to the Falcons’ 22, where the Saints almost scored but for Roger Wilson dropping the final pass.

It was not long before the Saints were back in the opposition’s 22, after Brian Mujati stole the ball at the back of a Falcons lineout.  The forwards took the ball on, until Dickson spread it across the field through Myler and Reihana, who left just enough room for Chris Ashton to sneak over in the corner for the first try of the afternoon.  Myler added the tricky conversion, and the Saints were 7-0 up after 10 minutes.

The next ten minutes was a somewhat scrappy period of the game, with neither side making much headway.  There was a brief interlude for a spot of aerial ping pong, until Tiny and Clarke decided they’d had enough.  Newcastle soon got the ball back, however, and cleared to touch.  Bruce and Ashton then decide to run the ball from their own 22, but Ashton finds himself supported by only Brett Sharman who has little choice but to attempt the kick ahead.  After both sides fumbled the ball, Newcastle were awarded a scrum and then a penalty from the ruck which followed.  Gopporth was successful with his kick at goal, taking the score to 7-3 after 20 minutes.

A penalty from Stephen Myler a few minutes later cancelled out Gopporth’s effort, but the home side’s lead was reduced again a few minutes later.  Newcastle earned a lineout on the Northampton 22, which they won securely.  The resulting maul rumbled its way forward, until eventually Rob Vickers crossed the line to score.  Gopporth was successful with the conversion, and the score stood at 10 apiece with 25 minutes played.

Not much happened for the next few minutes, with neither side advancing much beyond halfway.  Eventually, however, Myler broke through and offloaded to Downey who found Ashton.  Juandre Kruger couldn’t quite force his way over, but after a moment’s deliberation, referee Dean Richards awarded the try – scored by Lee Dickson.  Myler narrowly missed the conversion, hitting the woodwork, but the Saints went in at half time five points in front.

The Saints started the second half at pace, with Ashton and Diggin combining well.  A few minutes later, the Saints were awarded a penalty from a Newcastle scrum, and Myler made no mistake in adding the three points.  The next period of play saw Newcastle with most of the possession, after the Saints conceded two penalties in quick succession, though Gopporth’s kick to touch missed.  He did not miss a few minutes later, however, when he was given the chance to close the gap to 18-13. 

The teams exchanged tips on how to best perform the rolling maul for the next few minutes, with Newcastle showing what they could do first, then letting the Saints have a go.  The Falcons eventually found themselves in the Saints 22, but could go no further as the home side won the ball back.  Clarke, Dowson and Best carried the ball forward, until the excellent Kruger offloaded beautifully to Ashton who scampered across the line for his second try, which was duly converted by Ashton.  With fifteen minutes to go, the Saints were ahead 25-13, and seemed to suddenly realise that the bonus point was within reach. 

Dowson made good ground off the back of a maul, and support from Clarke and Downey saw the Saints advance into the 22.  Newcastle worked the ball to the other end of the field, and attacked the line using their favoured weapon – the maul.  Eventually, however, Downey intercepted the ball but couldn’t quite make a clean break.  After Mark Easter was impeded by the referee the Saints had a scrum on halfway and launched another attack through Ashton and Lobbe.  Geraghty and new boy Morris combined, making precious yards, but the fairytale ending was not to be as the ball was spilled in to touch with the clock on zero. 

Dowson was given the Man of the Match award, but contributions from Kruger, Mujati and Dickson should not go unmentioned. 

Leigh beat Featherstone 36-6, by the way...

Match Pictures Here

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