NARBONNE  7 

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS  22 

European Challenge Cup round four

Friday, December 16, 2005

Parc des Sports, Narbonne

Northampton Saints took an early lead in Narbonne when John Rudd scored an opening try in the right-hand corner in the second minute of this pool one round four match on a windy night in south-west France.

The wind made kicking conditions very difficult, which meant Saints’ full-back and kicker Bruce Reihana missed the conversion but his efforts were echoed by Narbonne’s prolific kicker Cedric Rosalen, who was right in front of his posts and still could not combat the swirling wind with his penalty attempt. Reihana made sure he made a success of his first penalty chance though to take Saints into a 0-8 lead after just seven minutes.

Saints continued to pile on the pressure in the first quarter and were rewarded a number of penalties for their trouble culminating in a further chance inside Narbonne’s 22 in front of the posts which Reihana converted to take the visitors into a 11-point lead.

However, Steve Thompson picked up an injury for his involvement and had to have his thigh heavily strapped. The hooker then handed himself an enforced rest when he was sent to the sin-bin for pulling a player down in the lineout as the match went into its second quarter.

But Saints’ defence rallied to the cause to make up for the lost man with Sam Harding being replaced by Dan Richmond to complete the front row. Saints continued to put in the tackles to keep Narbonne out of their half and were rewarded with a penalty as the home side clung to the ball. Reihana opted to take the kick from the halfway line. He missed, but succeeded in running down the clock as Thompson paced up and down the touchline.

Reihana did succeed in taking his third penalty when Narbonne were given a chance of three points but Franck Tournaire earned his side a reverse decision for dissent with his comments to the referee. With the penalty awarded within Narbonne’s 10-metre line, Reihana leapt on the opportunity to give Saints a 14-point lead.

However, Narbonne came straight back at them with a rolling maul from a lineout led by captain Marco Bortolami, which gave Tournaire a chance to amend his error by getting the ball over the line for a try. Rosalen managed to take the conversion amid the adverse conditions and the lead was cut to seven points after 34 minutes gone.

And when Saints were penalised in their own 22 as the half came to a close, Rosalen kicked to the corner to see if his side could emulate their try-scoring move from the ensuing lineout. This time, the rolling maul was well defended by Saints and they forced the knock-on to ensure the half-time score remained at 7-14.

Rosalen opened the second half with his first high kick of the evening, but the wind made it impossible for Reihana to get under it. It gave Narbonne the territory they needed and flanker Lei Tomiki nearly made it over the line but was dragged into touch. Saints then regained their own territorial advantage with a long kick from scrum-half Johnny Howard. The ensuing Saints pressure settled the visitors back into the game and they were eventually rewarded with their first penalty chance of the second half. Reihana weathered the storm and inched Saints’ lead to 10 points with the scoreboard reading 7-17.

Saints were given a further advantage when Heineken Cup winner No 8 Christian Labit was shown a yellow card. The penalty was kicked into touch for the lineout to see if Saints could make better use of their numbers advantage. Saints tried to remain patient and to retain possession of the ball, but play was disrupted as Chris Budgen came on to replace Colin Noon, who had to receive some medical attention on the pitch, and Darren Fox came on for Harding.

Their patience did pay off though as centre Jon Clarke dummied the Narbonne defence and off-loaded the ball to Ben Cohen as Saints crossed into their hosts’ 22. Cohen kept hold of the ball to score Saints’ second try of the evening as the game dipped into its final quarter. Reihana did not make the conversion however, but Saints were still 7-22 in the lead.

Lock Matt Lord then joined the fray following two weeks out with a back strain, but then Tom Smith went down injured and Dylan Hartley, who is happy playing at both hooker and prop, came on to take his place. Centre David Quinlan followed Smith to the sidelines with what looked like a hamstring strain. Paul Diggin replaced Quinlan.

Further player movement then came for the Narbonne side as Labit was shown his second yellow card of the evening. Labit was then followed by Franck Tournaire, who was also shown a yellow card, to leave Narbonne with just 13 men.

With Narbonne’s heads well and truly down, the home side were grateful to hear the sound of the referee’s whistle to signify a vital win for Saints.

Teams:
Northampton Saints – Reihana (capt); Rudd, Clarke, Quinlan (Diggin 77mins), Cohen; Myring, Howard; Smith (Hartley 67mins), Thompso (Richmond 22-32mins), Noon (Budgen 53mins), Damien Browne, Gerard (Lord 66mins), Lewitt, Harding (Fox 59mins), Daniel Browne.

Narbonne – Nadau; Negre Gauthier, Benassis (Desbrosses 67mins), Mazars, Patey; Rosalen (Ruiz 67mins), Mahe (Balue 64mins); A Martinez (Tounaire 72mins), Rofes, Tournaire (Hooper 41mins), Springgay, Bortolami (capt) Tomiki (Bisaro 41mins), Haare (Hunter 56mins), Labit.

Yellow cards:
Thompson (22mins)
Labit (53mins + 77mins)
Tournaire (79mins)

Red card:
Labit (77mins)

Scorers:
Northampton Saints – Tries: Rudd, Cohen: Pens; Reihana (4).

Narbonne – Tries: Tournaire; Con: Rosalen.