Northampton Saints sealed their place at the top of the Gallagher PREM standings on Friday night, closing out the first block of league matches with a 43-31 victory over Saracens.
Saints had shot out to a 17-0 lead as first and second in the league met at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens to open Round 5, with tries from George Hendy, Tom Pearson and Player of the Match Tommy Freeman setting Saints’ intention early doors.
But Saracens proved their mettle and, after getting themselves ahead before the interval, pushed out to a nine-point lead after the break. But the men in Black, Green and Gold remained unflappable and sent Pearson across the whitewash for his brace before Freeman’s second score regained Saints’ lead on the hour.
The game’s final quarter belonged to the British & Irish Lions winger, as the 24-year-old wrapped up his second-half hat-trick and brought his try haul to four in a show-stopping finish to the match at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
The result secures Saints’ spot at the top of the PREM table until the league picks back up in a month’s time; but for Saints’ Director of Rugby Phil Dowson, it was Northampton’s willingness to stay in the fight that was the most pleasing thing to come out of Friday’s result.
“Both sides went for it, and it ebbed and flowed and had a little bit of everything in the game,” Dowson said.
“It was never going to be perfect, but we stuck at it. We were relentless.
“Sam (Vesty) says it all the time, that they’re allowed to be good too, Saracens allowed to have moments where they create stuff because they’re packed full of very good players.
“They’re going to have moments of momentum – and that momentum shifted heavily in the first half.
“We obviously got another yellow card so there’s things we can be better at undoubtedly, but the character to deal with that and move on is outstanding.”
Round 5 proved a fruitful one for fans of the Gallagher PREM, with a cumulative 317 points scored across the five high-scoring matches.
That trend began in earnest on Friday night, with some 12 tries across the 80 minutes of action in Northampton; and it was the game’s back-and-forth nature that made it an enjoyable evening for Dowson.
He said: “I think the whole game was fun to watch, credit to Saracens for that too. You saw it from them in Max Malins’ try, with Charlie Bracken’s ability to just tap the penalty, see the space to go beyond Alex Coles and make it nerve-wracking for us.
“You enjoy seeing stuff like that as well, when someone has the audacity and bravery to go and do something like that.
“So, it was a really enjoyable game, and it’s easy for me to say that from a winning position, but I think it was a good example of what this league’s about.”
Friday’s clash marked the end of Northampton’s first block of Gallagher PREM matches, with Saints’ attentions now turning towards the return of the PREM Rugby Cup.
The men in Black, Green and Gold pick back up in the Cup competition sitting second in Pool B, having secured a 49-34 away win over Saracens in their only Cup match so far, and re-enter the competition on home soil as Harlequins make the trip to Northampton for Round 3 on Saturday 1 November (kick-off: 5.30pm) – tickets are available by clicking HERE.
“This next block is very exciting,” said Dowson ahead of the Cup’s restart. “All those lads that I’ve been asking to go to the well from a training point of view – that haven’t had the pay-off of playing at the weekend – they then get the opportunity now to step up.
“The PRC block’s come at the right time because it means that some players get rest, some guys go away to internationals and some guys get to put on a Saints shirt and I think that’s very healthy.”