By Duncan Wood
May 8 2002

This was a funny old game. Bristol led for long periods without ever looking convincing. Paul Grayson's boot kept Saints in touch and they struck late. The game was soured late on when a horrible tackle left Andrew Higgins on a stretcher.

Bristol sprang a surprise by moving David Rees into the centre and playing Brendon Daniel on the wing. Andrew Sheridan played blindside in place of Craig Short.

Bristol started as they left off against Leicester on Sunday. The backs looked lively and full of running and the Saints defence was under pressure almost immediately.

Alex Brown was only denied by a despairing ankle tap and a superb Jason Little chip was gathered by Phil Christophers whose inside pass to David Rees went to ground.

It seemed only a matter of time before a score would be recorded but Bristol's bold tactic of spurning kickable penalties and going for the corner didn't pay off. The Saints defence was robust and not always legal - prop Robbie Morris was sinbinned after only 4 minutes.

Felipe Contepomi drew first blood with a penalty after 9 minutes which was immediately cancelled out by Paul Grayson. Contepomi added another on 24 minutes but Northampton were showing ominous signs of getting their pick and drive game going.

They were making good yards up the middle seemingly at will and Andrew Blowers struck on 26 minutes when he broke the first tackle and then powered his way over. Grayson's conversion made it 6-10.

Bristol were stung into action and they started to move the ball across the backs. They sucked in the Saints cover and then moved the ball right. David Rees received the ball on the right with plenty to do but he stepped back in side and muscled his way over.

Bristol had their backs up and quickly powered their way back into Saints territory. A ruck formed under the Saints post and Agustin Pichot gleefully skipped untouched around the side to touchdown for a converted score. 18-10.

Contepomi and Grayson exchanged penalties and when Andrew Blowers was sinbinned on the stroke of half time, Bristol looked well set for a win.

However, Northampton proceeded to starve Bristol of possession and played a clever territorial game. Grayson's goalkicking was impeccable and he got it back to 18-16 in the first 10 minutes with Blowers still off the field.

Referee Chris White was enraging the Bristol crowd as he gave decision after decision in the Saints favour and he drew ironic cheers when he finally gave Bristol a decision.

Contepomi nudged Bristol further ahead with another penalty but was then crucially sinbinned as he went offside at a ruck under the Bristol posts with Northampton threatening. Grayson's penalty made it 24-22.

Bristol didn't cope badly with their playmaker off the pitch and in fact briefly extended their lead when Agustin Pichot landed an amazing drop goal, almost kicking over his shoulder as he stumbled backwards. Grayson cancelled it out with yet another penalty.

Bristol were hanging on and then a couple of bad breaks hit them hard. Paul Grayson was caught in possession and driven back several yards on the Bristol 22. Somehow, the ball squirted loose and fell perfectly for the Saints backs who were in space. A couple of swift passes and Joe Shaw went in at the corner. With 12 minutes to go, Saints had snatched the lead and were never to let it go.

The second break was from a long Matt Dawson kick which looked well covered by Lee Best and Phil Christophers. The ball bounced horribly upwards and backwards and into the arms of the Northampton chasers. A few rucks later and Budge Pountney squirmed over. 27-37.

Bristol looked shattered by this bad luck and tried in desperation to get their running game going again but the defence was solid and referee White unsympathetic.

The game ended on a sour note when Andrew Higgins left the field on a stretcher. He was flattened by a shocking tackle by one of the Saints backs who made no attempt to wrap the arms around the man and simply used his shoulder. Higgins looked in a bad way and I hope the guilty party feels bad.

The game finished accordingly on a bit of a subdued note. It was a bit of a flat way to end the season at home but emphasized Dean Ryan's comments about Bristol being a young team who need to learn how to close games down.