MATCH REPORT | Northampton Saints 43-31 Saracens Men
Saracens Men had to settle for a bonus-point after a thrilling match at Franklin’s Gardens ended in a 43-31 defeat to Northampton Saints.
The Original Club of North London trailed 17-0 early on but roared back in a rollercoaster of a match in the East Midlands between the top two teams in the Gallagher PREM.
A rampant Saints side eventually proved too much to handle, but Sarries crossed the try-line five times to ensure they headed back to the capital with something to show for their effort.
Saints were looking to control the territory in the opening exchanges, and in a cagey start to proceedings they then opened the scoring with a counter attack try to take the lead.
Tommy Freeman found space on the wing and galloped towards the 22, before Fin Smith’s grubber in behind bounced up perfectly to George Hendy who dived over for the first try of the evening.
They then looked to double their lead as we approached the end of the first quarter, and it looked for all the money that they would do that when Smith had a three man overlap but the ball bounced out of his hands and gave Sarries a huge slice of luck with a put-in and a chance to escape the danger.
Saints struck from their next attack though as they looked to take control of the the match. Another Smith grubber put the defence under pressure, and the ball cruelly popped out of Max Malins’ grasp and in to Tom Pearson’s hands who could dot down to double their lead. Smith’s conversion made it 12-0 with 18 minutes gone.
It nearly got worse just two minutes later as Henry Pollock released Edoardo Todaro down the left wing, but Noah Caluori did brilliantly to scramble across and drag him in to touch.
Their third try did arrive soon after though as the home side threatened to run riot in the first half. Another trademark sweeping counter attack ended with the ball in Freeman’s hands on the right wing and he was never going to be stopped from five metres out to charge over the line. The conversion game back off the post, but the deficit was now 17-0.
Just when they needed it most, Sarries scored out of nowhere to get themselves a foothold in the match. A penalty was kicked to the corner, and the in-form Nick Tompkins hammered through a gap and then released Fergus Burke who could stride under the posts to get his side on the board. Owen Farrell’s conversion cut the gap to 10 points.
It almost got better for Sarries when Theo Dan burst through the defence and put his side on the front foot, and after a sequence of penalties it felt inevitable that the second try was coming but a knock-on from Andy Onyeama-Christie allowed the hosts to survive.
Deservedly so they did then get their second with a moment of pure magic to set up Jack Bracken. Burke’s kick in behind bounced up perfectly to the winger who could grab it and slide over in the corner to send the away fans wild. The conversion went wide, but now the Londoners were only five points behind.
Pearson was then sent to the sin-bin for repeated infringements, and Sarries capitalised to complete a remarkable comeback and take the lead. They tapped a penalty and Tom Willis went close, but then Juan Martin Gonzalez stretched over from just a metre out to level the score. Farrell converted, giving his side a 19-17 lead at the break.
The second half started in the same way that the first ended, as Sarries continued their dominance to cross for their bonus point try. A maul hammered towards the line and then a strong carry from Willis took it up to the line before Tizard dotted down under the posts. The conversion from Farrell made it 26-17 with 30 minutes remaining.
Marco Riccioni was then sent to the sin-bin for being offside, and they were made to pay straight away as Pearson crashed over for the hosts’ fourth of the evening as the lead was now cut to two points as we headed in to the final quarter.
The Saints tidal wave continued on the hour mark, again they cut through the middle with their blistering pace, and with a huge overlap Freeman was never going to be stopped as they hit the front. Smith’s conversion made it 31-26.
A golden chance then went the way of Saracens as Jack Bracken broke down the left and passed inside to his brother with the line at his mercy, but the ball bounced out of his grasp and somehow Saints cleared.
Freeman then completed his hat-trick with 15 minutes to go as Saints took control with the clock ticking away. Once again they had territory deep in the 22, and then the ball was spun wide to the winger who could dive over for their sixth of the evening.
Just when it looked like the game was done though, Charlie Bracken produced a moment of utter brilliance to bring Sarries right back in to the game. He quick tapped a penalty, gathered his own grubber and then passed to Malins who could race over to get his side back to within a score and set up a grandstand finish.
Freeman put the result beyond doubt though with his fourth of the night as he grabbed a cross-field kick and stormed over to send the home fans wild.
Sarries rallied in the final minutes to try and wrestle back another chance, but the night belonged to Northampton and they prevailed with the points.
