The first four Saints throw-ins were won cleanly and the team thrived off the stream of possession. One such set-piece on the Coventry 22 became the platform for Saints’ first try in the eighth minute. Plenty of phases pushed the defence left and right and Carlos Spencer, in his first start at fly-half of the season, took advantage of the space to put Chris Ashton over the line.
Bruce Reihana missed the conversion but landed a penalty three minutes later and Saints had an 8-nil lead. Deprived of a similar flow of possession the visitors were already struggling to establish any sort of territory at all. Indeed the first time they had the opportunity to build pressure was just into the second quarter.
By that time they were a further seven points behind. Saints were playing a brand of rugby that Coventry were struggling to live with, Ashton in particular causing mayhem in the defence each time he touched the ball. His pace created Saints’ next two tries for Jon Clarke – making amends for two successive passes thrown into touch – and Stephen Myler, who scored with his first touch after coming on as a replacement for Robbie Kydd.
Kydd’s being helped off in the 24th minute was the only sour point in the first half for the Saints. But Myler proved more than an adequate replacement with his superb pass to Paul Tupai in the build-up to Ashton’s second try on the half-hour.
This followed Coventry’s only points of the half, a Ben Russell penalty, and preceded several minutes of visiting pressure. A penalty conceded by Mark Robinson was kicked to the corner and the Midlanders’ pack set up one phase after another.
The green wall held firm and eventually forced a knock-on and resultant clearance. Then the home pack showed how it was done by driving a maul over from fully 20 metres for Mark Easter to score the fifth try. Reihana converted to end the half with Saints leading 34-3.
The pack bettered themselves with their first possession of the second period. This time the maul went for 25 metres with Tupai the scorer. Reihana hooked the conversion attempt but Coventry were soon under the cosh once more.
Dai Maddocks’s yellow card at a ruck not only had his side down to 14 men but also ended a promising move in Saints’ half. The seven-man pack did well to hold several re-set five-metre scrums but the visitors were unable to prevent Ashton’s third try in the 51st minute that earned him the Travis Perkins man of the match award.
Senior Academy lock Phil Hoy was handed his debut and Reihana added Saints’ eighth try to take his side over the 50-point mark. This was followed by a spate of substitutions which disrupted the flow of the game somewhat and pre-empted another period of Coventry pressure.
This lasted 10 minutes and was ended by Saints’ ninth try. Spencer came off the blind-side to take Ian Vass’s pass at pace and Myler showed his distribution skills with a lovely pass to set Neil Starling away down the wing.
He in turn demonstrated his running ability by scorching past the defence to score. But for all the running rugby on show from the backs the final score belonged to the forwards and Tupai, who was at the bottom of the pile of bodies to notch the tenth, and his second, try of the afternoon.
Spencer drop-goaled the conversion, capping the comprehensive 65-3 win in the process.
Teams:
Northampton Saints – Reihana (capt); Ashton, Clarke, Kydd (Myler 24mins), Diggin (Starling 59mins); Spencer, Robinson (Vass 65mins); Tonga’uiha, Shields (Hartley 54mins), Stewart (Murray 54mins), Rae, Short (Hoy 54mins), Tupai, Fox (Hopley 59mins), Easter.
Coventry – Toft; Johnson, Cobden, Clayton, Montague (Dorrian 61mins); Russell (capt), Walls (Slater 40mins); Maddocks, Friswell (Whitehead 59mins), Brits (Rimmer 59mins), Nimmo (McGlone 59mins), O Hodge, D Hodge (Venter 59mins), Miller (Rimmer 47-59mins), Rheeders (Gillanders 59mins).
Scorers:
Northampton Saints – Tries: Ashton (3), Clarke, Myler, Easter, Tupai (2), Reihana, Starling; Cons: Reihana (5), Spencer; Pen: Reihana.
Coventry – Pen: Russell.
Yellow card:
Maddocks (46mins)
Travis Perkins man of the match:
Chris Ashton
TIMELINE:
8mins SAINTS Try Ashton 5-0
11mins SAINTS Pen Reihana 8-0
19mins SAINTS Try Clarke Con Reihana 15-0
26mins SAINTS Try Myler Con Reihana 22-0
29mins COV Pen Russell 22-3
30mins SAINTS Try Ashton 27-3
40mins SAINTS Try Easter Con Reihana 34-3
HALF-TIME SAINTS 34 COVENTRY 3
42mins SAINTS Try Tupai 39-3
46mins COV Yellow card Maddocks
51mins SAINTS Try Ashton Con Reihana 46-3
57mins SAINTS Try Reihana 51-3
76mins SAINTS Try Starling Con Reihana 58-3
85mins SAINTS Try Tupai Con Spencer 65-3
FULL-TIME SAINTS 65 COVENTRY 3
