As expected, Northampton largely reverted to the side which beat Sarries in Milton Keynes last month. That meant Ahsee Tuala was at full back (although he only lasted three minutes before being replaced by James Wilson), whilst Ken Pisi and Jamie Elliott occupied the wings, outside a centre partnership of George Pisi and Luther Burrell. Stephen Myler was at fly half, with Lee Dickson given the nod at scrum half. Into the forwards, and the front row comprised of Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley and Salesi Ma'afu. Courtney Lawes and Christian Day combined at lock, whilst the back row consisted of Tom Wood, Calum Clark and Samu Manoa. For Saracens, Alex Goode continued at full back, whilst the ever-versatile Chris Wyles was on the right wing, and David Strettle on the left. Duncan Taylor made a welcome return to the starting line up alongside Brad Barritt, whilst Owen Farrell teamed up with Richard Wigglesworth in the half backs. Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and Petrus du Plessis made up the visitors front row, whilst George Kruis and Alistair Hargreaves were in the second row, as Maro Itoje, Burger and Billy Vunipola formed the back row.

 

With the match opening with a series of kicks from both sides, it was a fine piece of invention which gave Saracens a third minute lead. Strettle chipped down the right flank, and Taylor won the race with Manoa to reach the ball. He popped the ball up whilst grounded to the supporting Strettle and the winger finished to the right of the posts, Farrell setting the tone for a fine kicking display with the extra two for a 7-0 lead. What also set the tone was Sarries' control of territory, as the Saints were penned back and forced to kick everything to exit their half. However, a decent Burrell cross-field kick forced Goode to carry into touch, but Sarries were able to quickly turn over. In the tenth minute, though, the visitors paid dearly for an error on their own lineout, which had been set up by Wilson's long kick from deep. 15 metres out, Saints' advanced towards the line, as Saracens kept out the first maul, repelled the second, but saw Mako Vunipola sent to the sin bin, whilst the third yielded a penalty try for Northampton as Myler levelled it at 7-7.

 

However, that would prove to be a rare error in the lineout. Saracens made a promising move upfield, with Wigglesworth at the heart of it, only for Taylor's pass to Strettle to be forward. Northampton responded with their best passage of play so far with some excellent offloading in the centre of the pitch, but the move was blunted by some solid visiting defence and the ball was cleared upfield. Sarries continued to impress in defence, and thanks to their impeccable line speed, Saints were penalised for holding on and Farrell established a 10-7 advantage with 25 minutes on the clock. The lead, though, proved to be short-lived as they lost the kick-off and conceded a penalty to make it all square again as Myler claimed another three points. Largely, though, the hosts were being hustled into mistakes in defence and attack, and mainly kept in their own half, nullifying the threat of the rolling maul. Farrell had a chance to restore the visitors' advantage after a home move broke down, but instead suffered his only miss of the contest as he dragged a tricky kick to the left of the posts. On 32 minutes, Saracens were in front, as Farrell claimed the points from 30 yards.

 

A lively finish to the half saw both sides kicking frequently, although Wigglesworth's efforts for Sarries posed more of a threat due to a superior threat. Northampton closed the half on the attack, as TMO intervention spotted a high tackle by Burger, putting the Saints deep into opposition territory and bringing the customary rolling maul. Despite going through the phases, they appeared to be making little headway on the visitors' defence until a penalty was forced on the edge of the 22, with Burger at the heart of a "disagreement" with his Northampton counterparts. Up stepped Myler to make it 13-13 at the interval.

 

Saracens restarted the match rather shakily as the Saints were awarded a penalty almost from the kick off, to reach half way. Sarries pinched the lineout but then contrived to knock on and concede a penalty from the scrum. As the visitors offended again in the maul, the home side went ahead for the first time in the match, as Myler edged them 16-13 in front with 45 minutes played. Within three minutes, though, the visitors had been rewarded for their ambition. A poor crossfield kick by Myler sailed across the Saints 22 and hit Stephenson full in the face. From the ensuing lineout, Saracens won a penalty but kicked for the corner instead, a decision justified as George was mauled over for the second try, which Farrell converted for a four point lead, which was preserved by some outstanding defence as a penalty was forced after a period of pressure by Saints. With the danger cleared, Farrell extended the visitors' advantage to a full seven points as the home side offended at the tackle with 54 minutes played.

 

A strong counter-attack following a Billy Vunipola knock on provided the origin for the try which put Saints right back into the contest, as Saracens failed to release the tackled player. A close range lineout saw Tom Wood score a try which put them within two points, but the conversion, delayed after Hargreaves convinced Garner to refer the score to the TMO, was missed, and Sarries were still 23-21 ahead with some 23 minutes to play. They got some much-needed breathing space when Farrell nailed an impressive kick from 40 metres from a scrum penalty, but his side were starting to give away more penalties, and looked troubled by the home side's rolling maul. However, in the game's turning point, when Saints scoring from yet another maul seemed inevitable, the visitors instead got the clearing penalty, and, despite there being twelve minutes left, it was a blow that the home side never seemed to recover from.

 

That was summed up with five minutes to go, Saracens stole a lineout and went through the phases only to knock on, but Northampton appeared to have run out of ideas as they trundled through the phases, and were penalised for holding on, allowing Farrell to secure an eight point advantage. That remained intact until the penultimate minute when Myler converted a penalty to make it 24-29, with just enough time to receive possession again. However, that was a rather forlorn hope, as the home side were trapped inside their own 22, until the inevitable knock-on came and Saracens were back at Twickenham.

 

That was fun. Can we do it again next week?

Northampton Saints: 15 Ahsee Tuala (James Wilson 3 / Tom Stephenson 41); 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott; 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (Ka'an Fotuali'i 51); 1 Alex Corbisiero (Alex Waller 32), 2 Dylan Hartley (capt) (Mike Haywood 68), 3 Salesi Ma'afu (Gareth Denman 53), 4 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day (Jon Fisher 69), 6 Tom Wood, 7 Calum Clark, 8 Samu Manoa.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode; 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle (Chris Ashton 59); 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Petrus Du Plessis (Juan Figallo 59), 4 George Kruis, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (capt) (Jim Hamilton 62), 6 Maro Itoje (Richard Barrington 14; Jackson Wray 65), 7 Jacques Burger, 8 Billy Vunipola.

Replacements Not Used: Jared Saunders (sin bin replacement), Neil de Kock, Charlie Hodgson.

 

Referee: Greg Garner

 

Attendance: 13362