Pool 3 remains Racing 92’s to lose. After their majestic display in Paris last Friday, they managed to secure a draw in the return here, which keeps them two points ahead of Northampton with a game in hand. Meanwhile, Saints’ fate is no longer quite in their hands. If Racing don’t slip up in their three remaining matches, the best they can hope for is the lucky dip of the best runners up.
The draw was a suitable result, anti-climactic and dour, for this was not a game to set the pulse raising. Saints edged territory and possession, even dominated at times, but the lack of a cutting edge from both sides was all too painful to behold. Which is a shame, because there were people here worth impressing.
All the great and the good were in town, the Friday before Christmas. Dan Carter was hoping to build upon his impressive debut for Racing last weekend, and Eddie Jones to continue building New England. He and Alex King, Northampton’s backs coach, had an “unofficial” meeting before the game, with speculation mounting that the cultured Englishman is set to be offered a role in Jones’s coaching panel.
There is no questioning King’s calibre as a purveyor of attacking play, but this season has not been the one to scrutinise his work with Northampton, nor this match. Jones must have been wondering why he had come. Dylan Hartley, thought to be his favoured choice as captain, was absent, his recovery from concussion stretching into its sixth week, and Northampton’s attack could find little joy against the Racing muscle men.
This season, Northampton’s threat, when things have gone well for them, has come mainly from the forwards, even without Hartley. In Paris in the daylight last week, it proved insufficient, but this was the East Midlands at night. Racing did not enjoy themselves much with ball in hand either – even the stellar New Zealanders Carter and Casey Laulala took a turn spilling the ball under the lights.
Once again, Northampton’s best players were the unheralded ones. Teimana Harrison, for the second week in a row, was their most impressive forward. The young Kiwi went to the same school as Hartley in Rotorua and is England-qualified through his father. He performed sterling work at the breakdown, but the fact that it was enough to earn him man of the match told its own story. Luther Burrell found the odd chink of half-light running at the space between shoulders, but again we are clutching at straws. This was ugly.
Northampton enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges in both halves, their all-powerful scrum winning a penalty after 10 minutes. But Racing edged the second quarter to lead 6-3 at half-time. More concern for Jones was the twisted knee suffered by Kieran Brookes midway through the first half. Visibly in pain, he folded, where he had earlier dominated, at a scrum on the half-hour, from which Carter landed his second penalty for that narrow lead.
Better news, though, is that Brookes’s replacement is English and even younger. Those in the know are really excited about Paul Hill, the 20-year-old tight-head so adept that he took up where the fit Brookes had left off, dominating a heavyweight pack from the Top 14. Northampton’s approach in the second half was more urgent and incisive. They forced Dimitri Szarzewski to infringe at one ruck, from which Myler equalised, but Carter reclaimed the lead for Racing on the hour, after Kahn Fotuali’i persisted too long at a ruck during a rare Racing foray.
Carter was coming in for attention. Jamie Gibson and Alex Waller hit him marginally after clearance kicks. Both were passed as legitimate by Nigel Owens, but Racing objected particularly to the second incident, and Wenceslas Lauret was penalised for his part in the subsequent melee. Myler levelled the scores.
It’s inconceivable the great man was rattled, but Carter was charged down behind his own line a few moments later to precipitate a five-metre scrum for Northampton. The faithful rose in excitement, then howled in protest as Owens decided to penalise the home team this time. It was as close as either side came to crossing the other’s whitewash, which is to say not very. This was one for the new England coach to forget. He’ll head back to HQ none the wiser.
Northampton Foden; Elliott (K Pisi 73), G Pisi (Hanrahan 72), Burrell, North; Myler, Dickson (capt; Fotuali’i 53); A Waller (E Waller 66), Haywood, Brookes (Hill 28), Lawes (Paterson 66), Matfield (Day 53), Gibson, Harrison (Williams 75), Dickinson
Pens Myler 3
Racing 92 Dulin; Rokocoko (Andreu 60), Laulala, Chavancy, Imhoff; Carter, Phillips (Machenaud 49); Ben Arous (Brugnaut 60), Szarzewski (capt; Chat 62), Tameifuna (Gomes Sa 49; Tameifuna 72), Charteris, Van der Merwe (Carizza 66), Lauret, Nyanga, Masoe (Claassens 76)
Pens Carter 3
Referee N Owens (Wal) Att 15,064
