Edoardo Todaro’s hat-trick paved the way for Northampton Saints to secure a home Round-of-16 tie in the Investec Champions Cup, as they notched up a 43-28 win over Scarlets at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
The visitors started strongly as Ryan Elias and Archie Hughes both crossed, but Todaro answered in style for the hosts with all three of the Italian winger’s tries coming in the first half – handing Saints a five-point lead at the interval.
Ollie Sleightholme secured the bonus point before Craig Wright rumbled over at the back of a driving maul to help Northampton stretch out their advantage.
Scarlets remained in the fight as both Sam Costelow and Jac Davies touched down, but Anthony Belleau’s penalty with five minutes left on the clock took the game out of reach – and one more try from Callum Chick with the clock in the red ensured Saints ended the contest on a high note.
FIRST HALF
The visitors were the first to register a score on the board after Taine Plumtree charged down and gathered a box-kick, and managed to get the offload away to hooker Elias, who dove over.
It took a little while longer for Saints’ attack to get going with Scarlets holding firm in defence, but eventually it was Italian winger Todaro who crossed the line for the men in Black, Green and Gold for his first try in the Champions Cup on just his second start in the competition.
Scarlets took the lead back again shortly after, following a nice break from a midfield scrum, which launched Ellis Mee down the touchline to break into the Saints’ redzone, and it was the trailing scrum-half Hughes who crossed the line.
Saints’ upper hand at scrum-time was evident, with the referee awarding Northampton’s front row multiple penalties, and after several warnings, he eventually sent loosehead Kemsley Mathias to the sin-bin for ten minutes.
Saints captain Fraser Dingwall opted to take the scrum once again, with Scarlets a man down, from which Mitchell and Freeman launched the ball out to Todaro, who went over with an audacious flying finish in the corner.
The young Italian had his hat-trick before the half-time whistle as Saints found their groove with ball in hand, and Todaro finished down the left wing after initially breaking down the right to give Saints the lead at the interval.
SECOND HALF
The opening ten minutes of the second period were a tight affair, but it was Saints who eventually opened the scoring as they secured the bonus-point try when James Ramm sliced through the defence before sending Sleightholme into space.
The try still required some finishing, but Sleightholme showed off his trademark pace before using his footwork to step the last defender and slide over the line.
Saints’ fifth try would have pleased the purists as a beautifully set up driving maul allowed Wright, on as a replacement, to bulldoze over at the tail.
The visitors kept battling, and after sustained pressure inside Saints’ 22, it was Welsh international Costelow who darted through the defensive line at close range and converted his own try.
The pressure on Saints continued to build as Scarlets dominated possession largely inside the Northampton red zone, and it was the fullback Davies who gathered a chip in behind for a second score in quick succession for the Welsh visitors.
With the gap edging ever tighter on the scoreboard, Saints were awarded a penalty inside Scarlets’ 22, and Belleau pointed to the posts and slotted the kick to take the game beyond reach.
The final flourish came with the clock in the red, and it was replacement Chick who bashed his way over from less than a metre out. With the victory, Saints secured a home tie in the Round-of-16 and will await the end of the pool matches to discover their opponents.
LINE-UPS
SAINTS: 15 James Ramm, 14 Edoardo Todaro, 13 Tommy Freeman, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Robbie Smith, 3 Trevor Davison, 4 Chunya Munga, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht, 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Sam Graham, 8 Henry Pollock.
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Archie McParland, 22 James Pater, 23 George Hendy.
SCARLETS: 15 Jac Davies; 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Blair Murray; 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Archie Hughes; 1 Kemsley Mathias, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Henry Thomas, 4 Max Douglas, 5 Jake Ball, 6 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (c), 8 Fletcher Anderson.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Jarrod Taylor, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Macs Page, 23 Tomi Lewis.