Northampton Saints’ defeat to Leicester Tigers on Saturday marked only their second reverse of the Gallagher PREM season, but the loss coming at the hands of their closest rivals Leicester Tigers made the result a hard one for Phil Dowson and his side to stomach.
Saints had matched their hosts’ efforts early doors through a Tommy Freeman belter, but from there Leicester scored 36 unanswered points, leaving too high a hill to climb for Dowson’s men.
Northampton would go on to claim a late brace of consolation tries – from George Hendy and Freeman again – but the result was already decided, and saw that the Midlands bragging rights remained at one apiece for the season.
“It was very painful,” Saints’ Director of Rugby, Dowson said of the 41-17 defeat.
“We had to work incredibly hard and after half-time we couldn’t make the adjustments. We couldn’t get into the game and exert any pressure of our own that would have allowed us to get on the scoreboard and claw our way back in.
“Fundamentally, we didn’t get it right, we didn’t get enough ball, we conceded a lot of penalties and we’ve got to wear that and make sure we’re better.
“Leicester were at it; they’re a very good side, like we knew they would be.
“I hope we take the scars, I hope we take the lessons out of it, I hope we stay together and I hope we work incredibly hard on Monday in preparation for Friday night’s game at the Gardens.
“And I hope we make sure that we never forget it.”
Saturday’s result, while disappointing, marked only their second loss of the PREM season – with their first also coming on the road back in Round 6 when they fell to a similar scoreline (46-12) at Bristol Bears.
And while Dowson and his Saints side will surely rue their lost chances at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, that second loss of the term did not alter Northampton’s position at the top of the PREM table – though the men in Black, Green and Gold still have work to do to secure their place in the competition’s play-offs.
“We’ve got to be careful of over-egging it because it’s the second game we’ve lost this season in the PREM,” Dowson said.
“Leicester is a tough place to come, they’re unbeaten there for a long period of time and we weren’t at it.
“We’ve got to make sure we don’t take it lightly, but we’ve also got to make sure we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”