This time a year ago, Northampton surrendered a 22-point lead in the final quarter to lose yet again at Saracens. This time they did not. Only 13-0 up as the game approached the hour mark, they managed to keep the champions at bay in a game that burst into life in the final half-hour.
“The reason we were calm when they came back is that we weren’t then,” said Phil Dowson, their director of rugby. “I don’t think it’s a case of ‘Let’s kill that ghost’; it’s more: ‘What does that experience tell us?’ I think the players managed that and the biggest thing was how calm they looked.”
Saracens found themselves in the news this week, not for the usual excellence of their play, but the decision of their captain – and England’s – Owen Farrell to step away from the international game for a while. If this is anything to go by, Farrell’s presence is more important to the teams he plays in than his bewildering number of critics might realise.
Maro Itoje, long reckoned to be an England captain, took the reins, but Saracens could not quite shake off the cold here to respond to the challenge of the visitors. Itoje was among the senior players to step up in the final quarter to secure a bonus point at least, but it was an inspirational performance by another recent England captain, Courtney Lawes, that helped to keep the champions at bay.
Northampton were also without their captain. The week had begun with the news of Lewis Ludlam’s injury, to compound the rumours of his departure to the south of France next season. The Farrell news soon trumped that. Then Mark McCall’s response later in the week suggested the anger over Farrell’s treatment by fans and media, social and mainstream, ran deep within the club.
It came as some surprise, then, to see Saracens start in such subdued fashion. They were without other England internationals. Ben Earl is among the long-term injured, while Elliot Daly and Jamie George were given time out, the latter not released from the bench till early in the second half.
Northampton hardly tore into the match, but they hogged a majority of the possession in the first half-hour. Fin Smith, returning from injury, missed his first shot at goal but landed two penalties midway through the first half. Thus Northampton led 6-0 at the break without really threatening the Saracens 22, let alone the tryline.
It was the Saints’ defence that excelled when called upon. Saracens cranked up the pressure in the buildup to half-time. Time and again, they were forced into errors by Northampton’s aggressive defensive line, Lawes and Alex Coles to the fore.
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Saracens’ efforts reached a pitch a couple of minutes before half-time, with a perfectly set lineout and drive from five metres out. Lawes insinuated himself into the heart of it and those telescopic arms sacked the entire effort. Northampton won a penalty at the subsequent scrum.
Saracens’ predicament deepened 10 minutes into the second half, when the visitors struck from long range. What a try it was. Running from the 22, George Furbank, captain for the day, made the first cut down the left, which was developed by Tom Pearson. When the ball came back right, Fraser Dingwall’s improvised chip to the wing was gathered in space by Ollie Sleightholme, who sauntered home.
The reaction was inevitable, if a little laboured. Saracens sent three penalties to the corner and struck at the third. Nick Tompkins, Billy Vunipola and Itoje made dents, before Vunipola’s brother Mako, another England international on Saracens’ bench, sent the ball wide, where his cousin Manu found Tom Parton for a reply on the hour.
Manu missed the conversion, but that was the least of Saracens’ problems. Northampton had by then brought on an England international, too. Alex Mitchell was sprung clear by some fabulous handling among some of Northampton’s replacement forwards. The England scrum-half glided past Alex Goode to the line.
At 18-5 down with less than a quarter of an hour to play, Saracens had the test champions are supposed to relish. They duly responded with a try five minutes later. Itoje carried and Goode produced one of his special chips behind, for which Alex Lewington won the race.
Manu Vunipola converted from the touchline – and we had our finale. The Saints, this time, stayed cool to see it out.
