Theo on the run

By saracensfan62
March 6 2026

This game could probably be considered a bit of a dead-duck. Saints had already qualified and we were searching for the win purely out of pride. I’m not sure anybody expected the outcome of this match to be as close as it actually was. I was not in attendance for this match as I was at home for a family and birthday event. Please do forgive me if some details are wrong, I am doing my best. Also sorry about the repeated image,suffice to say its due to technical problems.

First Half

 The game exploded into life from minute 1, with both sides on the scoresheet inside the opening five minutes. Brandon Jackson made an aggressive charge down attempt on James Pater’s clearance straight from kick-off, and the resulting goal line drop out handed Saracens prime field position. Andy Onyeama-Christie capitalised immediately, slipping a short pass to Olly Hartley, who glided through the Saints rather sleepy defence and dotted down for the first 5pointer of the day.

Saints hit back almost immediately, regathering from a Saracens knock-on and moving the ball sharply through the hands for James Ramm to cross out wide.Why is he always so good whenever he plays against Sarries? Can’t understand it.. hey ho. Level were the scores and we knew we had a game on our hands. Despite already being through, Saints were not about to let us win without a fight. Sarries weren’t rattled though. Midway through the half, a scintillating counter attack saw Alex Lozowski hack on a loose ball, combine with Hartley and Jackson, before Theo McFarland cut a superb line and offloaded to none other than Lozo, who released Nick Tompkins to race over against the run of play.

Saints responded again, with strong forward carries creating a platform before sharp hands sent George Furbank over, and Pater’s conversion levelled the scores at 14-14.  Northampton thought they’d pulled ahead before half-time but a close-range effort was deemed held up over the whitewash courtesy of some excellent Saracens defence, and the teams went in level at the break. 14-14 and we well and truly had a game on our hands.

Second Half

Saracens came out firing after the interval and for a spell looked like they might pull off a famous away win.  They were first on the scoresheet in the second half, sending Theo Dan over at the back of a driving maul, which frankly seemed unstoppable. From another driving maul, we were driven back, but after some strong forwards carries, the ball was worked wide to Roti Segun who was left completely unmarked. Roti and unmarked on his wing… there was only ever gonna be 1 outcome. He danced through the tackle of James Ramm to make it 14–26 following a good conversion.

Saints responded from the bench. Captain Chunya Munga produced a glorious solo score, scooping up a bouncing ball in midfield, fending of the attempted tackle of Olly Hartley and galloping clear to reach over the whitewash, reducing the deficit to seven.  But Sarries had one more punch in them — an interception from Alex Lozowski on 73 minutes gave Brandon Jackson the chance to race clear and put Saracens 33–21 ahead, seemingly putting the result beyond doubt.

What followed was remarkable. Replacement fullback George Hendy’s entrance sparked life back into Saints’ attack — he broke free from inside his own half, screamed through the remaining Saracens defenders, and found Rory Hutchinson on his shoulder for a bonus-point score.  And the best was still to come. Saints won a scrum advantage on their own 22, and then Hendy produced another one of his moments of magic, weaving his way the length of the field to score in the corner and level the match at 33–33, before teenage fly-half James Pater held his nerve to slot the touchline conversion in front of the home crowd and seal a dramatic 35–33 victory. Elation for the Saints fans, and a repeat (3 times now,getting ridiculous) of us snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Final Thoughts

Hugely disappointed, but we need to learn ad stop throwing away wins in the last 10 mins of game! Where this arsenal-style bottling has come from I cannot say, but it needs to be sorted out quick as possible and bounce back for the Bath game.