Saracens 39 – 24 Northampton Saints: Player Ratings as Sarries hit Saints for six in impressive home triumph
Today at 04:30 AM
By Tom Harrington
Saracens with a convincing victory over the champions despite a late push from Northampton in gusty conditions. Brilliance in attack from the hosts specifically Theo Dan and Fergus Burke both on the scoresheet. Saints go home with a single point after a comeback, early and later, in the second period.
The home crowd thought Saracens had opened the scoring through Nick Tompkins however his efforts were ruled out for being offside. However the StoneX would have something to celebrate minutes later, Fergus Burke pouncing on a kick from Tobias Elliott, brilliant play from 21-year-old on the far side. Saracens doubled their try count using two major carries out the back of a scrum, Theo Dan exploding into four Saints player five metres then Rhys Carre diving for the whitewash, Fergus Burke unable to add the extras as he hits the post.
The front-row pair combined again, this time it was Theo Dan over the paint, breaking away from the back of the maul and once again bouncing past four Northampton players but the unseen work from Rhys Carre moving Saracens' maul metres towards Saints' line. Saracens had their bonus-point score just before half-time, Ivan Van Zyl's box-kick caused mayhem in the air, Brandon Jackson and Juan Martin Gonzalez combing to tap the ball back in the air to Fergus Burke for his second score of the afternoon. Half-time at the StoneX 24-0 to the hosts, the first time Northampton have been scoreless at the break in over a year.
A pouched finished from Tommy Freeman, ball dropping in front of Rhys Carre and the Englishman, the winger quicker to react and it's green astroturf to the posts. Saracens captain Maro Itoje saw yellow for a high tackle on Saints lock Tom Lockett, ten minutes in the bin. A second for the champions inside the first ten minutes, Tom Pearson jumping for the line after heavy pressure since the restart, 24-12.
Jamie George put an end to Northampton's potential comeback, sniping through a maul, directed by Itoje. Ben Earl got on the score-sheet finishing off some scrappy play, for Saracens' sixth try. Saints would have the final say, specifically Ollie Sleightholme who found a slender gap on the near side. Another in quick succession George Hendy from running alongside Archie McParland going in under the posts, bonus-point score for an early Christmas present. Full-time 39-24.
Saracens: 39
Tries: 6 (Burke 10', 37' Care 24', Dan 29', George 58', Earl 61')
Conversions: 3 (Burke 11', 37', 62')
Penalties: 1 (Burke 80)
Yellow Cards: 1 (Itoje 45')
Red Cards: 0
Starting XV: 15 Liam Williams14 Tobias Elliott 13 Lucio Cinti 12 Nick Tompkins 11 Brandon Jackson 10 Fergus Burke 9 Ivan Van Zyl 1 Rhys Carre 2 Theo Dan 3 Fraser Balmain 4 Maro Itoje © 5 Theo McFarland 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez 7 Ben Earl 8 Tom Willis
Replacements: 16 Jamie George 17 Phil Brantingham 18 Alec Clarey 19 Harry Wilson 20 Toby Knight 21 Gareth Simpson 22 Alex Lozowski 23 Angus Hall
Northampton Saints: 26
Tries: 4 (Freeman 43', Pearson 49', Sleightholme 75', 78')
Conversions: 2 (Smith 43', 78')
Penalties: 0
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0
Starting XV: 15 George Hendy 14 Tommy Freeman 13 Tom Litchfield 12 Rory Hutchinson 11 James Ramm 10 Fin Smith 9 Alex Mitchell 1 Emmanuel Iyogun 2 Curtis Langdon 3 Trevor Davison 4 Tom Lockett 5 Chunya Munga 6 Alex Coles © 7 Tom Pearson 8 Juarno Augustus
Replacements: 16 Nathan Langdon 17 Tarek Haffar 18 Elliot Millar Mills 19 Temo Mayanavanua 20 Henry Pollock 21 Archie McParland 22 Fraser Dingwall 23 Ollie Sleightholme
SARACENS PLAYER RATINGS
15 Liam Williams 7
Moved the fullback before the game after Elliot Daly pulled his hamstring, a quiet game but comfortable in the air.
14 Tobias Elliott 7
A busier first-half than the second, brilliant assist for Burke.
13 Lucio Cinti 7
Quiet game from the centre but like his counterpart, strong in defence.
12 Nick Tompkins 7.5
Thought he had opened the scoring inside the first few minutes, good in attack and defence.
11 Brandon Jackson 7
Brought on late into the matchday squad, quiet game on the left wing.
10 Fergus Burke 9
A brace for the fly-half, excellent in attack constantly changing how he played, making every opportunity for his side.
9 Ivan Van Zyl 8
Unlucky not to get on the scoresheet, like his other half, made constant opportunities for his side.
1 Rhys Carre 8
Excellent in attack from the prop, one try for himself and dominant in mauls.
2 Theo Dan 9
A try for the hooker and setting up another for his front row, physicality proving dominant for Englishman.
3 Fraser Balmain 7
Strong at scrums and mauls and solid in defence.
4 Maro Itoje © 7.5
Dominant in the air, stealing Saints' lineouts, strong in defence.
5 Theo McFarland 7
Good performance from the lock, strong in defence.
6 Juan Martin Gonzalez 7.5
Good in attack helping with Burke second score, like his front pack dominant in defence and attack.
7 Ben Earl 8
Score from open play for the backrow, strong carries in attack.
8 Tom Willis 7.5
Hard-hitting and strong in his carries unlucky not get on the scoresheet with a disallowed try.
Replacements:
16 Jamie George 7.5
17 Phil Brantingham 7
18 Alec Clarey 7
19 Harry Wilson 7
20 Toby Knight 7
21 Gareth Simpson 7
22 Alex Lozowski 7.5
23 Angus Hall 7
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS PLAYER RATINGS
15 George Hendy 7.5
Good in the air in difficult conditions and good line breaks towards the end of the game.
14 Tommy Freeman 7.5
Quiet game for the winger despite his try, good in the air, good line breaks.
13 Tom Litchfield 6
Quiet game from the centre not able to get any rhythm going.
12 Rory Hutchinson 7
Another player who had a quiet game had some good passes to get his side on the front-foot.
11 James Ramm 6.5
Decent in the air in the conditions and some line breaks
10 Fin Smith 7.5
Only the two conversions, hitting the post once, put Northampton on the front-foot with his delayed passes.
9 Alex Mitchell 7
Quiet game from the scrum-half, attempted to make his own moves but had no support.
1 Emmanuel Iyogun 7
Strong first 40 with big hits and good at the scrum, brought off early after rolling his ankle.
2 Curtis Langdon 7
Some lost lineouts but made some line breaks.
3 Trevor Davison 6.5
Carried well and strong scrummage.
4 Tom Lockett 6.5
Brought off early because of a high tackle and did not return to play, good in the air.
5 Chunya Munga 6.5
Quiet week for the lock not as dominant in the air as usua, carried well.
6 Alex Coles © 6.5
Not usually seen in the backrow, but made some nice line breaks and carried well, some mistakes at lineouts.
7 Tom Pearson 7
Strong carries in midfield especially for his own score.
8 Juarno Augustus 6.5
Brought off early, not utilised to his full potential
Replacements:
16 Nathan Langdon 6
17 Tarek Haffar 6.5
18 Elliot Millar Mills 6.5
19 Temo Mayanavanua 6.5
20 Henry Pollock 7.5
21 Archie McParland 7
22 Fraser Dingwall 7.5
23 Ollie Sleightholme 7.5
Five Talking Points: Saracens 39-24 Northampton Saints
Saracens director Mark McCall on his side’s first half: The hosts scored 24 points in the first 40 with four tries, McCall said: "The first-half performance was outstanding, especially when we were playing into the gale, it's probably the best 40 minutes we've had for a long time as everything we did was smart."
McCall believes that experience in such conditions against Bulls helped his side today: "that experience was good for us to have, I thought that Ivan (Van Zyl) and Ferg (Fergus Burke) used the ball really smartly in the first-half finding spaces with chip kicks."
Northampton Saints director Phil Dowson on their first-half performance: Saints were down 24-0 after the first 40, the first time they have been scoreless in over a year. Yet he cant quite put a finger on what's missing, he said: "that's the frustration I think we've shown that we're capable, this game we were poor, leaked tries went behind and the second 40 we couldn't put enough on the pitch."
Windy conditions at the StoneX: Gusty conditions in North London today saw some kicks go wayward. How did both directors feel they dealt with the problem? Dowson said: "We can point out the conditions, but we played Coventry and Castres in worse conditions and we played really well, so I think we need to look at ourselves rather than the conditions."
McCall said: "Ivan (Van Zyl) and Ferg (Fergus Burke) used the ball really smartly in the first-half finding spaces with chip kicks and all those sorts of things, once we got down their end we showed the intensity and physicality that you need against a team like Northampton."
Saracens next run of fixtures: Saracens head down to the rec and welcome Bristol in the new year before heading across to Ireland for the Investec Champions Cup. McCall said: "We'll have to use our squad I think over the next couple of weeks, too many games coming thick and fast and we want to do well in Europe, two tough fixtures coming up but we have a good squad of players."
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