The previous outing at the Gardens had ended with a resounding win and it took a minute and 15 seconds for this match to look the same. Having collected the kick-off Saints worked their way upfield and Bruce Reihana came within a metre of scoring. The ball was recycled quickly and Neil Starling went over for the first try, converted by Reihana.
In the first few minutes the Saints pack was giving Carlos Spencer plenty of ball to pull the strings with and he was instrumental in the second try in the 10th minute for Joe Ansbro – his debut score marking his first start in the black, green and gold.
That’s not to say that the Titans didn’t have their chances. Fijian international winger Vereneki Goneva nearly sent his captain Tom Allen away from his 22 after intercepting a Saints pass. And James Downey’s high tackle led to a penalty that wing Jon Feeley took quickly. He chipped the onrushing defence and the chasers were a touch unlucky when the bounce took the ball over the dead ball line.
But Ansbro’s try took Saints further clear and with Reihana’s conversion from right in front the hosts were looking comfortable at 14-nil. Despite their poor run of form Rotherham gave Saints a tough game earlier in the season and towards the end of the first quarter they set up camp near the home line.
A turnover at a ruck ended one attack and there was a penalty conceded for holding on in midfield soon after. Then Saints showed how dangerous they are anywhere on the park by running the penalty, sending Matt Lord away up the right wing and scoring a few seconds later through Reihana. The swirling wind took the attempt from the touchline wide and the Saints skipper made life much easier for himself 10 minutes later by taking the ball to between the sticks for his second try. This conversion sailed over and after 32 minutes Saints had a bonus point as well as a 26-nil lead.
Rotherham were now needing tries and when fly-half Rich Vasey sent a kickable penalty to the corner it was received warmly by the crowd. But the Titans found the Saints defence in thrifty mood and Paul Diggin’s tackle on Goneva was typical of many. And the half finished in perfect style when Mark Easter crashed over for the fifth try. Reihana sent the ball sailing over the Sturtridge Pavilion and referee Chris White sent the players back into the sheds.
Saints could have started the second half as well as the first had Alex Rae held on to Spencer’s pass with numbers outside. Rae also sent Johnny Howard away with a well worked lineout move that was spoiled by the pass going forward.
Saints have won many plaudits for their backs play this season. But the pack were in destructive mood, driving the Titans’ scrum back at will. Inevitably the next try was created on the back of one such effort. Easter did well to keep the ball under control and Reihana sold the defence a dummy on his way to a hat trick. It was the skipper’s last act of the afternoon and he left with a good ovation.
The 38-nil lead could have been extended even further a couple of minutes later when James Downey left defenders in his wake on a 50-metre run. The defence scrambled to recover, and they were saved when Spencer’s pass to Diggin went forward.
But it was one-way traffic and two tries in two minutes on the hour were just reward for Saints’ efforts. The first went to Starling and the second to replacement Mark Robinson, who barged past Goneva and sprinted 40 metres for the line. Both were converted by Spencer, as was Will Harries’s 72nd-minute try – his first for the club – that took Saints past 1,000 points for the season.
This was followed by a five-minute delay as James Waterhouse, who had been on for only two minutes, received treatment before being stretchered off. In the 10 minutes of stoppage-time that followed Saints scored twice more. Ansbro got his second and the match was rounded off, appropriately enough, by Travis Perkins man of the match Tom Smith.
Teams:
Northampton Saints – Reihana (capt)(Harries 52mins); Starling, Ansbro, Downey (Myler 67mins), Diggin; Spencer, Howard (Robinson 57mins); Smith, Hartley (Shields 72mins), Murray (Stewart 67mins), Lord (Hoy 38-40mins), Rae (Hoy 57mins), Tupai (Lewitt 40+1mins), Fox, Easter.
Rotherham Titans – Claassens; Goneva, Allen (capt), Blackwood (Lennard 70mins), Feeley; Vasey, Chivers (Hallam 67mins); Kilbane (O’Donnol 57mins), Corrigan (Wilford 63mins), Boulton (Bunting 67mins), Smith, McGowan, Jacobsz, Sutton (Waterhouse 70mins (Wade 74mins)), Dunlop.
Scorers:
Northampton Saints – Tries: Starling (2), Ansbro (2), Reihana (3), Easter, Robinson, Harries, Smith; Cons: Reihana (4), Spencer (5).
Travis Perkins man of the match:
Tom Smith
Referee:
Chris White
TIMELINE:
2mins SAINTS Try Starling Con Reihana 7-0
10mins SAINTS Try Ansbro Con Reihana 14-0
22mins SAINTS Try Reihana 19-0
32mins SAINTS Try Reihana Con Reihana 26-0
40+2mins SAINTS Try Easter Con Reihana 33-0
HALF-TIME SAINTS 33 TITANS 0
48mins SAINTS Try Reihana 38-0
60mins SAINTS Try Starling Con Spencer 45-0
61mins SAINTS Try Robinson Con Spencer 52-0
71mins SAINTS Try Harries Con Spencer 57-0
86mins SAINTS Try Ansbro Con Spencer 66-0
89mins SAINTS Try Smith Con Spencer 73-0
FULL-TIME SAINTS 73 TITANS 0
