Northampton Saints win against Coventry

National Division 1.  Round 27, 5th April 2008 

Result:

Coventry 16, Northampton Saints 48

The Saints line-up saw a number of changes from the side that beat Nottingham last week, with several players returning to the squad, and others being given the chance to start after being on the bench in recent weeks.  Reihana, Ansbro, Downey, and Diggin all kept their places, but Neil Starling replaced Chris Ashton on the wing, with the returning Carlos Spencer being paired up with Mark Robinson at half back.  Soane Tonga'uiha, Dylan Hartley, and Euan Murray started in the front row, with Matt Lord returning in the second row alongside Alex Rae.  The impossibly tall Courtney Lawes got a start at blindside flanker, and was joined in the back row by the two newest members of the fifty-cap club, Ben Lewitt and Mark Easter.  It's a good job I know what the Saints players look like, as the Butts Park PA was inaudible from where I was standing! 

Coventry kicked off, and the Saints launched an immediate attack which was stopped after a pass to Ben Lewitt was judged to have gone forwards.  Ben Russell's attempted clearance after the scrum was charged down by Joe Ansbro, and the young centre almost battled his way over the try line but was stopped just short.  The Saints were awarded a penalty, and opted for an early scrum.  The scrum was re-set several times, but eventually the two Marks combined to send Mark Easter over for the first try of the afternoon after 5 minutes.  Bruce missed the conversion, but things were looking promising for the Saints.

That promise was rather short lived, however, as Coventry struck back.  The Saints looked to be putting a decent attacking move together, but Dylan Hartley lost the ball in contact.  Coventry looked to attack from the resulting scrum, and wasted a good opportunity following some miss-communication between their backs as a pass was launched into touch.  Coventry soon had another opportunity, as Bruce Reihana was wrong-footed by the bounce of the ball.  The chasing Coventry players arrived before Bruce could tidy up, and centre Ron McLean was able to run over unopposed.  There was some suspicion of a forward pass, but the referee had no doubts when it came to awarding the try.  McLean added the conversion, so after fifteen minutes the home side were 7-5 up. 

Seven soon became ten for McLean and Coventry, after the Saints were penalised for not releasing the ball.  Five minutes later the scores were tied, as Bruce Reihana caught a clearing kick from Myles Dorrian and jinked his way into the Coventry 22.  Ben Lewitt tracked Bruce's run nicely, and finished the move off well.  Reihana added the conversion, putting the Saints 12-10 up after 25 minutes.

Coventry missed the opportunity to re-take the lead after a slightly bizarre piece of refereeing.  It looked as though Sir had signalled that the ball was loose and free to play, but as soon as Sharky picked it up he was penalised for being offside.  McLean had a shot at goal, but the posts were just out of his range.  The next few minutes were all Coventry, as a wonderful break down the far side left them with a healthy overlap.  Unfortunately their hooker couldn't hold on to the ball, and the opportunity slipped away.

McLean added a penalty a few minutes later, giving his side a 13-12 lead shortly before half time.  Indeed, the lead could have been more and the points could have been McLean's after the centre narrowly failed to intercept a floated pass from Carlos Spencer.  The referee blew for half time not long after, which signalled the start of a rather vicious hailstorm - just as he and the players had got inside. 

The weather cleared up just in time for the Saints to kick off at the start of the second half.  Almost immediately they were back in front thanks to a try from Paul Diggin.  Carlos Spencer made good ground from a penalty, and the Saints won their own line out comfortably.  The ball was worked quickly across the pitch where it found Digger's hands - the line he ran was unstoppable, and he crossed under the posts practically unopposed.  Bruce added the two points, and before five minutes of the second half had elapsed, the Saints were 19-13 up, and would not fall behind again.

McLean added a penalty for Coventry soon after, but that was the last points added to the home side's score.  In-form Joe Ansbro scored the Saints' bonus point try, after what looked like a training ground move.  The Saints won clean ball from Matt Lord at a line out, and the ball quickly made its way through the hands of Sharky and Spencer before finding Ansbro who sidestepped his way through the Coventry defence.  Bruce added the conversion, giving the Saints a ten point lead after about 55 minutes.

The next ten minutes or so belonged to Coventry, as they worked the ball upfield through almost countless phases of play.  The Saints' defence held firm, however, until a loose ball forced a break in play.  The Saints were penalised, however, so Coventry began the attack again.  This time they ran out of space as winger Johnson was pushed into touch after a mighty tackle by Captain Bruce.  The lineout was thrown long, and gathered safely by Ben Lewitt.  Spencer launched a mighty kick which found touch on the Coventry 10m line. 

Two promising attacking moves from the Saints were spoiled by poor handling.  The usually safe hands of James Downey were having a decidedly off day as he dropped the ball in acres of space, then Neil Starling almost found his way to the try line but lost the ball in contact.  It wasn't until Coventry's replacement scrum half was sent to the sin bin that the Saints really looked like the league champions.  Soane Tonga'uiha, having an excellent game, made a break which was continued by Paul Shields.  Shields' pass found Ansbro, who in turn fed Johnny Howard who just about forced his way over the line.  Bruce converted the try, giving the Saints a 33-16 lead with just over ten minutes to play.

Five minutes later and it was Tiny's turn to score, capping a great day for the prop.  The Saints won a lineout deep in the Coventry half, thanks to Matt Lord, and the forwards piled towards the line, where Tiny found the gap and forced his way over.  Bruce missed the conversion, leaving the scoreboard at 38-16 to the Saints.

There was more, and better, to come from the Saints, as they scored not one but two tries in injury time.  The first went to Paul Shields, after the Saints won a Coventry line out.  Harries, Starling, and Downey combined to work the ball upfield, but a poor pass looked like the end of the move until Tiny picked the ball up from around his ankles and passed it out to the wing where Shields was lurking with intent.  Bruce missed this conversion too, but the Saints soon added another try to compensate.  Instead of taking the easy option and kicking to touch, Johnny Howard tidied a loose ball inside his own 22 and darted down the touchline.  Alex Rae and Mark Easter combined well to secure the ball and fired a pass to Stephen Myler who dodged his way through the Coventry line.  Paul Diggin was on hand to receive the pass, and he sprinted down the touchline to score the Saints' eighth try.  Bruce missed the conversion, but the Saints still came away 48-16 winners.

The fact that the result of this game was not of real significance in terms of winning the league was obvious, as the tactics employed by the Saints were, at times, baffling.  Kicks to touch that weren't from penalties could be counted on one hand (or maybe even one finger), and it many of the moves had the distinct air of the training ground about them. 

The Coventry side has some good players, their centres especially, but the Saints' defence was just too good and frustrated Coventry at every opportunity.  The home side only got within sniffing distance of the try line a couple of times, but they did their part in holding the Saints back.  It was only when they went down to 14 men that the Saints really managed to cut loose.

From a Northampton point of view, a couple of players really stood out.  Tiny was tireless, and his handling seems to improve every week.  Joe Ansbro is another who just doesn't seem to stop.  He tackled everything that came his way, but attacked with aplomb too.  Digger took his chances well, and a returning Mark Hopley was a welcome sight. 

Now, let's put eight past Exeter at Twickenham next week!

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