They hoped they had reached their nadir but it seems Northampton have further to fall. Having responded to the departure of their attack coach, Alex King, the week before with a gutsy home win against mighty French opponents at Franklin’s Gardens, mighty French opponents in France proved far too much. Even in their darkest, most try-phobic periods, Northampton have generally been able to count on a solid platform up front. Now even that seems to have deserted them. The 40 points Castres posted on them was in no way flattering – to either side.
“We were well beaten,” said Jim Mallinder, Northampton’s director of rugby. “They were too physical for us. We didn’t get on the front foot at all in the first half, and what little ball we got we didn’t look after. The frustrating thing is we’ve shown against big, physical packs that we can compete, but today we just didn’t at all. We were chasing shadows. We got to half-time and it was really game over already.”
Dylan Hartley made his long-awaited return from injury and the England captain assumed position at the heart of a set piece that was dismantled by Castres, currently hovering just a few places above the relegation zone in the Top 14, much as Northampton are in the Premiership.
Indeed, an attack coach seemed a laughable luxury for a side whose basics have deteriorated as they seemed to have here. Attack is the least of their problems. That rugby starts up front is a maxim that hardly needs repeating. A legion of attack coaches would be of no use to a side suffering at the set-piece like this. They were blown away at the breakdown too.
Saints rode their luck last week, seeing off a ferocious assault from Montpellier. Sometimes the shaking up of a coaching panel can sharpen the attitude. If so, here was the bounce back down to earth. French sides, it turns out, are ferocious in general, never more so than at home. Castres obliterated Saints. The whistle of Ian Davies was Northampton’s ally, punishing the home side when their counter-rucking became too exuberant, but the referee could do only so much to protect the visitors.
Even when the referee sent Rory Kockott to the sin-bin for handling off his feet, Castres made hay, scoring their first try while he was away, having kicked two early penalties for a 6-0 lead. Their phenomenally explosive captain, Alex Tulou, burst clean through a ruck to set up the equally lethal winger David Smith for try No1.
Whereupon Northampton wilted still further. They were blown away at another of their own rucks. Kockott, now restored, gathered his own chip and Antoine Tichit was driven over. A try just before half-time was followed by another just after, Tulou down the right, then Robert Ebersohn sending Smith away on the switch down the left. Not many could stop the Aussie in this sort of form and Northampton are not among them. Try No3, converted from the touchline by Benjamín Urdapilleta – 27-0.
The only question left – though it did not seem much of one – was whether Castres could register the bonus point. They had 36 minutes in which to do it, but the question remained unanswered as we entered the final 10 minutes. Inevitably, Northampton won themselves some ball, with Teimana Harrison enjoying an industrious return to the team, but still Castres had the best chances, one counterattack from their own line particularly thrilling – and French.
Northampton scored the next try, with eight minutes remaining, James Wilson worked over on the right, but that only made Castres angry. The bonus-point try was finally secured two minutes later, Alexandre Bias put over on the left by more brilliance from Smith. Then it was time for 40 up, Smith, again, sending Antoine Dupont on a brilliant try to the line, which Julien Dumora converted from the touchline.
The humiliation of Northampton was complete – or perhaps the absolution of Castres. These sides have been champions of their domestic leagues in recent years; both have fallen significantly from those heights since. French teams – and Castres as much as any of them – we know can fluctuate from the sublime to the abysmal on a weekly basis. English sides less so.
That is Northampton’s concern. They can still pull out a cussed victory every now and then, but their greatest worry is that flops like this are becoming increasingly common. Leinster are next for them in Pool 4 and few can forget the hiding the Dubliners meted out the last time they visited Franklin’s Gardens. There may yet be more pain on the way.
