Dylan Hartley’s return from his latest ban was, if not quite stress-free, gentler. The tussle between the two leaders of their respective leagues may have been typically physical and unyielding, but the overt hostility he could have expected from a Welsh crowd in the past as an English sinner was lost in the rows of empty seats.
If the 7,308 crowd had been squeezed into Ospreys’ old home at the Gnoll, there would have been an atmosphere to fuel the home side’s drive. A ground two-thirds empty could not bridge the divide between the Premiership champions and a region whose wage bill is significantly lower, although it is close to being in profit two years after losing nearly £2m.
Hartley could afford to stay on the fringes for periods, nowhere near when one skirmish broke out after a scrum, and other than tipping Alun Wyn Jones at a ruck, he was a model of restraint. There will be more questioning examinations of his temperament in the coming weeks.
Northampton will qualify for the last eight and secure a home draw if they defeat Racing Metro at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday. Even a losing bonus point should be enough to secure one of the best runner’s-up positions, but since beating Leicester a month ago their level of performance has dipped slightly. Ben Foden may be fit to play at full-back despite leaving the field early with a knee injury that looked serious.
The outcome may have been different had the Northampton centre George Pisi been sent off for a tip-tackle on the outside-half Dan Biggar. It may be a couple of years since the offence vexed administrators enough for a World Cup semi-final to be blighted by a red card, but Jérôme Garcès’s decision to send the Samoan to the sin-bin showed how match officials have been content again to leave the question of the true colour to the citing commissioner.
The Saints were 10-6 ahead when Pisi collared Biggar, late, and steered him head first to the ground. The outside-half broke his fall, but the directive to officials is clear: work out on which part of the body the victim of a tip-tackle would have landed had they not put out an arm to break the fall. The answer in this case was head and shoulder and Pisi can expect to be cited and banned for at least three weeks.
That would be no consolation to Ospreys but, after Biggar had kicked the penalty awarded for Pisi’s suspect tackling technique they conceded the softest of tries when Justin Tipuric held on to the ball on halfway as he looked for Aisea Natoga to come off his wing only for it to be dislodged by the force of Luther Burrell’s tackle. George North, who scored four tries in the first meeting between the sides in October picked up andenjoyed an unopposed 50-metre run to the line.
The try effectively decided the contest and was symptomatic of the home side’s display: all that was good – and there was much of that, not least an ability to get behind a defence known for its meanness and a regular supply of ball to the wings – was undermined by the bad, led by poor presentation at the breakdown and decision-making that blistered in the extreme heat of battle.
Northampton’s opening try also came from a mistake. Ospreys came under pressure at a scrum and when Rhys Webb’s clearance kick was charged down by Tom Wood, who from the opening minute gave his side the edge at the breakdown with defending at its most constrictive, Calum Clark helped himself to the loose ball.
Stephen Myler kicked a couple of penalties to go with his conversions and Northampton did little more than they had to, keeping Ospreys at arm’s length and mindful of Saturday’s group decider against Racing Metro at Franklin’s Gardens. They spent the final 10 minutes stuck in their own 22, but Ospreys could find no way through a defence that was not unnerved by off-loading.
The Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, looked on as Northampton showed a superiority that he will not expect to be there at the next major Anglo-Welsh encounter: the opening match of the Six Nations at the Millennium Stadium next month. The home side’s captain Alun Wyn Jones spent much of the first half limping before having his left leg bandaged and he spent some of the second slowly picking himself up from the ground. It was an evening when warrior spirit was not enough and Ospreys lacked the extra touch of class money can buy.
Ospreys Evans; Natoga (Dirksen, 63), Beck, Matavesi, Walker; Biggar, Webb; M Thomas, (G Thomas, 50) Baldwin (Parry, 63), Jarvis (Arhip, 50), Bernardo (Lewis, 63), Jones (capt), King, Tipuric, Ardron (Allen. 76). Pens Biggar 3.
Northampton Foden (Wilson, 11); K Pisi, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, Dickson; A Waller (Corbisiero, 53), Hartley (capt), Denman (E Waller, 73), Dickinson, Day, Wood, Clark, Manoa.
Tries Clark, North. Cons Myler 2. Pens: Myler 2. Sin-bin G Pisi 32.
Referee J Garcès (France).
