As the final whistle blew on this Christmas cracker of a match there was no great sense of disappointment, just a feeling that we'd all watched one of the great contests of the professional era. Gloucester probably deserved the victory for the dominance of their tight five. But what Northampton lacked in set piece accuracy they made up for in the loose with Tom Smith and Budge Pountney both having massive games. Behind the scrum the backs launched wave after wave of counter attacks and were clearly superior to the visitors in this department.

Before the game the Saints were greeted with the news that Ben Cohen would be joining Matt Dawson, Mark Connors and Andy Blowers on the injury list. Those four would clearly have influenced this match but then Gloucester were without players the calibre of Trevor Woodman. Heaven help our front row if the Cherry and Whites had even more power in the scrum!

The crowd too was up to the occasion. this game had sold out for weeks and despite their unsporting rendition of 'oh when the glos go marching in' the Gloucester supporters are always welcome visitors to the Gardens. The atmosphere in the all new Gardens was a welcome change to the sterile fare broadcast by sky 24 hours earlier.

The teams came out to a rousing welcome and then the 'three wise men, referee Lander and touch judges Campsall and Leyshon received their traditional hello's, it was less than they deserved but more on that later.

To the game...

The 'hats on wheels' award this week goes to Gloucester. Mercier punted a penalty deep into the Saints half. The catch and drive from the resulting  line outwas simply awesome. The Cherry and Whites held the ball in the maul and rolled and rumbled fully 25 metres with Azam, the French hooker emerging at the bottom for a well earned try. The Saints pack, previously noted for their forward play,  looked shell shocked. Mercier banged over the extras and the Gloucester fans sensed a hiding was on the cards. To the Saints immense credit that was the last time Gloucester troubled the home line.

On seven minutes the talking point of the match occurred. Tom Smith went on one of his many rampaging runs. Gloucester captain Phil Vickery put in the tackle but with excellent technique Smith stayed low and drove upwards through the tackle, there was a clash of heads as Smith caught Vickery square on the jaw and he was out cold. Remarkably Vickery did not leave the field but continued playing, he actually propped well at the next scrum but at the resulting line out was clearly still unsure whether it was Christmas or Easter. mercier kicked Gloucester further into the lead before Vickery finally succumbed to his pleading team medics and left the field for a blood replacement.

Saints were living on scraps as the Gloucester scrum continued to destroy set piece ball and the line out was being it's usual erratic self. However they were still playing with some style. Grayson made a good break that could and perhaps should have lead to a score. However he and Sleightholme conspired to mess up their timing and the chance was lost.

A minute later a better chance presented itself as Smith stole the ball from a Gloucester ruck quick hands saw the ball quickly move down field and Reihana take what looked like a scoring pass. He stood Marcel garvey up and turned him and clearly thought he was in for the score, Garvey however is lightning fast and brought Reihana down with ease. Saints continued to apply the pressure and Fidler had to offend to stop the move he received a  yellow card and the Saints kicked to the corner. Good ball at the lineout launched the attack as Grayson teased across the Gloucester defence, his reverse pass put Leslie through to score and the Saints were back in it. 7-10 after 20 minutes.

Gloucester were clearly put out by the Saints resurgence and set about extending their lead. Penalties were mounting up against the Saints some justified others plainly mystifying. On 22 minutes Mercier missed a simple kick for him ands then Henry Paul hit the post on 30 minutes from another easy position. The Saints defence held again and cleared their lines.

On 34 minutes Mercier forgot the ball and was dragged down behind his own line by Pountney. The 5 metre scrum went the way of them all with Glos disrupting Saints good position, several drives later and the visitors stole the ball to clear their lines. Saints had blown another golden opportunity. In the same attacking sequence Thompson charged down a Mercier clearance kick for another 5 metre scrum, once again the saints eight were well beaten and no score was added.

Into stoppage time the Cherry and Whites put some useful phases together and drove deep into the Saints 22. Once again there was no way through the home defences and as Paramore spilled the ball forward the danger seemed to have cleared. Inexplicably Lander awarded Gloucester a simple penalty in front of the posts for offside, he pointed at Hunter and indicated that he was the offender. This was nothing more than guesswork as the video has revealed a well organized defence clearly behind the offside line for the whole attacking sequence. Mistakes are forgivable, plenty of lander's mistakes favoured Saints throughout the match, making things up as you go along is not. Mercier resumed the kicking duties and the half time score was 7-13.

Gloucester started the second half in lively fashion but as ever the Saints defence held firm and it was Grayson who had the first opportunity to improve the scores. After a prolonged touch line chat Grayson went for goal but was wide from 40 metres. Two minutes later Mercier made no mistake with a well taken drop goal. 7-16 after 51 minutes.

As the game seemed to be getting away from them the Saints upped a gear and drove deep into Gloucester territory. A bewildered Roncero was the next to see yellow as he clearly prevented release from a ruck. Grayson was successful this time to make the score 10-16.

As the game approached the final quarter Bruce Reihana seemed to grow in stature. He must be one of the most powerful wingers in world rugby as he always makes a good five yards through any tackle. At one point he chipped the ball through two defenders and then squeezed through to regather before feeding Jorgenson one more support runner and the Saints would have had a run in. As it was Jorgy also went for the chip which 'pin balled' between him and Delport and into touch. Confusion between the officials saw Gloucester take a quick throw only to be called back, unfortunately Garvey never heard and went on to pull his hamstring on the way to the Saints goal line. Saints were awarded the throw in.

On 58 minutes Chris Budgen was relieved from his back peddling duties with the return from injury of Mattie Stewart and then on 60 minutes Soden had his moment of madness with a lazy tackle that nearly took Beim's head off. He receive ten minutes rest for his stupidity.

The pressure was clearly telling on the pitch and Henry paul must have thought he was playing the other Saints Knowsley Road as he decided to run the ball out from behind his own line, presumably he didn't want to drop out under the sticks. The mess he got his team into saw Saints in another fine attacking position. Two minutes later Grayson again kicked the penalty to leave the scores at 13-16 with 14 minutes to play.

From a penalty deep in his own half Grayson went for broke and landed the ball over Henry Paul's head and into touch just 5 metres from the Gloucester line. The crowd noise rose to a crescendo and everyone thought the Saints would finally take advantage of the possession. Gloucester pulled down the maul from the catch and drive and Larry pointed at the posts. It was an easy kick by anyone's standards. He pulled it wide! Sometimes it's just not your day!!! Four minutes later Mercier showed he was also feeling the pressure with a drop goal that very nearly hit the corner flag.

As the game approached the final whistle the Saints threw everything at Gloucester. As they had throughout the match the ran from everywhere with good effect. Gloucester defended as if their lives depended on it as they struggled to keep up in the open spaces. Unfortunately they were also giving away penalties which Saints kicked to touch. The lineout was so shambolic at this stage that the Cherry and Whites either stole the ball or the delivery to Vass was of such poor quality that the Saints were shoved back miles. In the scrum too Saints were reduced to scraps. The defining moment came as the Gloucester eight shoved Northampton Smith, Thompson, Stewart and co. back at a rate of knots. Soden picked up well but was swamped by Paramore and Boer who turned the ball over. Mercier kicked clear and again the Saints ran with pace and passion from their own half. Unfortunately they couldn't break the red line and the game was up. Final score Saints 13 - Gloucester 16.

Close but no cigar. At the finish the players were on their knees, we supporters had been fed for 80 minutes on a game rich in traditional huff and puff seasoned with generous helpings of adventurous running rugby. Either team could have won it at the death and against different opposition both teams would have won by a distance. On Saturday I saw what I believe to the best two club teams in England play themselves to a standstill, it was a shame in the end that one of them had to win. Next time, let it be Saints!