If this was a duel between England’s two hookers vying for a place in the British & Irish Lions squad then Dylan Hartley can celebrate a comprehensive win over his rival Jamie George but it will be of little consolation after a smash and grab victory for Saracens, inspired by a rampant Billy Vunipola leading the cavalry charge.
It was Alex Lozowski who clinched the champions’ revival, making the break for Marcelo Bosch’s try and nailing a tricky conversion to put Saracens ahead in the closing minutes and keep them in the hunt for a top-two finish.
Northampton may wonder how they contrived to lose the match but while Saracens’ resilience has to be marvelled at, it is three late defeats in a row for the Saints now.
Hartley, for his part, scored his first Northampton try for more than three years. He lasted 66 minutes – more than in any of England’s Six Nations matches, but considering his side’s late capitulation, perhaps not long enough. “I though Dylan had a really good game, he did his basics well. He threw in really well, carried, tackled, so I was really pleased with him,” said Northampton’s director of rugby, Jim Mallinder. “He was injured early on in the season and he worked really hard to get himself fit for the Six Nations and he’s improving every week.”
Harry Mallinder also caught the eye for Northampton but this was a Saracens side without Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola and Brad Barritt in their squad while Billy Vunipola and Chris Ashton were on the bench. The priority is the Champions Cup semi-final against Munster in Dublin on Saturday.
With that match in mind, George was withdrawn before the 50th minute but considering all 17 of his international caps have been from the bench, it will be for his cameos if he is selected in the Lions squad announcement on Wednesday – possibly ahead of Hartley.
“It was good, it was always going to be a physical one,” George said. “We’re very competitive, whenever we train against each other, whenever we play against each other.” Asked if he would like to see Hartley earn Lions selection with him, he said: “I wouldn’t be fussy. If I’m in there, that’s fantastic. If I’m not it’ll be disappointing. If we’re both in there, it would be great for him as well.”
The watching Steve Borthwick, a Lions assistant coach, will let Warren Gatland, the head coach, know all about the hookers’ tussle and he will also inform him of a tireless 80-minute shift from George Kruis, on his first appearance since following knee surgery in January. Vunipola was also superb from the bench, winding up the crowd, getting a talking to from the referee, Matthew Carley, but most importantly playing a key part in Saracens’ comeback.
“We got a head of steam in the last 20 minutes and once we got that confidence and momentum, we were excellent,” McCall said. “We had a decent bench to bring on but I think the players just got a bit angry and cross. That is exactly what we want from [Billy]. With a six-day turn-around, we didn’t want to expose him to a full 80 minutes, but for him to have 25 minutes was perfect.”
Northampton struck first when Alex Goode was beaten to Stephen Myler’s towering kick by Ken Pisi, who had the presence of mind to offload to the supporting Mallinder, whose momentum took him over the line on the slide – Myler converting.
With Duncan Taylor in the sin-bin, Myler landed his first penalty before Hartley was held just short at the back of a rolling maul. Two penalties from Lozowski and one from Myler gave Northampton a 13-6 lead at the interval.
Just over a minute after the restart, Hartley plunged over for his try, finishing off a rolling maul and powering through George to reach the line for his first Northampton try since January 2014.
Two further Lozowski penalties brought Saracens back to within eight points – and prompted the introduction of Ashton and Schalk Brits – but Northampton gave themselves breathing space with a delightful score, finished by Pisi. Mallinder gathered his kick ahead before a move that swept from right to left and back again allowed Ahsee Tuala space on the right. His inside offload was gleefully gathered by the Saints right wing.
Vunipola was next off the bench and was soon given a warning by Carley, who was unimpressed with the England No8’s back-chat. It made him the villain of the piece in the eyes of the Northampton supporters who greeted a thunderous hit from Courtney Lawes on Vunipola with one of the biggest cheers of the day. They booed when Ashton finished off a sustained period of Saracens pressure in the right-hand corner but Lozowski’s missed conversion kept Northampton ahead by more than a score.
The Saracens fly-half responded well with a penalty and with just a few minutes remaining, he burst through to allow Vunipola and Brits to combine to put Bosch over. Northampton sneak into the top six with the losing bonus point, a point ahead of Harlequins, who they welcome to Franklin’s Gardens on the final day of the season.
Northampton Tuala; Pisi, Burrell, Mallinder, Foden; Myler (Hutchinson, ht), Groom (Dickson, 66); A Waller (E Waller, 68), Hartley (Haywood, 66), Brookes (Hill, 64), Lawes, Ribbans (Ratuniyarawa, 70), Gibson, Wood (capt), Picamoles (Harrison, 25).
Tries Mallinder, Hartley, Pisi. Cons Myler, Mallinder. Pens Myler 2.
Saracens Goode; Earle, Bosch, D Taylor (Tompkins, 45), Maitland (Ashton, 51); Lozowski, Spencer (H Taylor, 66); Lamositele (Thompson-Stringer, 69), George (capt; Brits, 51), Koch (Du Plessis, 51), Isiekwe (Rhodes, 56), Kruis, Conlon (B Vunipola, 54), Burger, Wray.
Sin-bin D Taylor 17.
Tries Ashton, Bosch. Cons Lozowski. Pens Lozowski 5.
Referee M Carley (RFU). Attendance 24,163.
