By Simon Robinson
December 4 2005

Exactly three months ago, 3rd September, Saints started the season the worst possible way - a five try, 32 - 0 drubbing by their local rivals.

Triumphant Tigers Jostle Jittering Jimmies

 

This match was billed as a revenge opportunity, however Saints played to the form book, losing out 29 - 16. Late injuries to Matt Lord and John Clarke saw Gerard and Rudd in the starting XV, with Seely and Mallon taking over the bench-warming duties.

Northampton, as so often seems to have happened this season, scored first and then lost out. A chip by "Sharky" Robinson from a scrum was followed up by the scrum half, the touchline conversion missed but Saints were 5 - 0 up and only five minutes in. A missed kick by Goode was followed up by a successful kick for Reihana, 8 - 0 on the twenty minute mark.

 

 

Another penalty prior to half time seemed like Saints would turn around 11 - 0 up, but a break by right wing Leon Lloyd saw the lead cut back to 11 - 7, after Goode kicked the conversion.

Saints started the second half in the worst possible way, Leicester's powerhouse pack pushing over after some pressure on the line, Ben Kay coming up with the ball, and another Goode conversion put the home side 11 - 14 up. As things stood however, Saints would still be in the draw for the semi-finals.

Dylan Hartley entered the fray, shortly after the break, to completely reverse the lineout. Unfortunately for Saints, this was against current expectations - Thompson had been solid with his throwing in, but Hartley was more wayward.

Almost straight away, Saints were back in the lead, a cross field chip from the fly half to the left wing (no, not Grayson and Cohen but Spencer and Rudd), with another difficult conversion missed by Reihana, saw Saints back on top at 16 - 14 with just over half an hour left.

The lead was not to last though, as a chargedown of a Spencer clearance saw Tigers openside Shane Jennings over for the home sides' third try - a missed conversion by Goode left the scoreline 16 - 19. Saints were still in the draw at this juncture, as their losing bonus point was enough to overcome Tigers' four point win.

A flurry of substitutions on both sides saw Hamilton and Abrahams beefing up the Tigers forwards and Fox, Noon and Seely helping with the Saints pack. All was lost, however, as slack defending let Lloyd in for his second - and crucially Leicester's fourth - try of the day, again converted by Goode, to put Saints 16 - 26 down.

Northampton now needed two tries, or enough points to win, to get back into contention for the semi-finals. A penalty on the halfway line was attempted by Reihana; however it was right on the limit of his range. Not that it mattered, as he scuffed the ball so it barely got five feet off the ground. Goode showed him how it was done two minutes later as, from a similar place, he stretched the home lead to thirteen points, 16 - 29.

Saints pushed hard for another try, pressurising the Leicester line for most of the game. However, at this point it would only be a consolation score - two tries were needed to get through - and it all came to nought as Tigers finally cleared their lines to win.

Two comedic incidents lightened a tense match, firstly Chris White realising his yellow ref's shirt and the Saints' gold away strip were identical, resulting in a quick deployment of a black t-shirt. Secondly, at the end of the first half, Spencer attempted to kill the ball by kicking it dead, only to have it ricochet off the cross bar and land neatly in in-goal, hastily grounded by a fellow Saints player.

Again, Saints own mistakes cost them the game. Too many penalties are still being conceded in the red zone, defensive confusion allowed Lloyd's first try prior to half time, and Leicester's play in the second half showed Saints what a top class outfit should really play like.

We now have the two ECC games against Narbonne to come, either an unwelcome distraction or a possible route back into the Heineken depending on your view. Saints need to get back to winning ways if they are to have any chance of staying in the Premiership this season, close isn't going to be good enough at this rate.