Match Report: Northampton Saints 31-29 Nottingham Rugby

Northampton Saints produced a stellar comeback to remain unbeaten in the Premiership Rugby Cup, coming back from 21 points adrift to defeat Nottingham Rugby 31-29 at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens. 

Nottingham ran away from Northampton in the first half, opening the scoring through hooker Jack Dickinson before more tries from Aniseko Sio, Sebastian Ferreira and a Dickinson second gave the visitors their bonus point before the break – while Saints could only respond with a captain’s score for Angus Scott-Young. 

But Saints turned the screw in the second 40 minutes, sending Toby Cousins, Archie McParland and Fyn Brown over the whitewash to get within reach before an impressive solo-effort from England Under-20s hooker Craig Wright sealed the victory and meant Saints left with a full quota of pool stage points. 

FIRST-HALF:

It was Nottingham who drew first blood, heaping pressure on Saints’ line after sending a rolling maul close. Eventually their pressure paid off and it was hooker Dickinson who stretched over the whitewash to start the scoring. 

Matthew Arden’s conversion came off the left upright and Saints got themselves on the scoreboard immediately in response. The men in Black, Green and Gold pushed their own maul close to the tryline before McParland whipped the ball out to the right and it was captain Scott-Young who muscled his way over. 

A missed George Makepeace-Cubitt conversion kept the scores at five apiece but Nottingham stretched themselves out to a 14-point lead as they sent first Sio and then Ferreira over from close-range, with two Arden conversions putting the score at 19-5 in the away side’s favour after half an hour.

And Nottingham would add a third score in a similar fashion, working their way into Saints’ 22 with patient phase-play, before more phases on Saints’ tryline ended in hooker Dickinson stretching over for his second of the evening. 

Saints did stretch their legs into Nottingham’s 22 before the half-time whistle as Charlie Savala almost slipped through a gap in the away side’s midfield, but the ball would come loose there and Nottingham would see out the remaining minutes of the half and go into the break 26-5 up. 

SECOND HALF:

Nottingham thought they’d started the scoring in the second half too but their efforts from close-range were knocked on over the whitewash this time by James Cherry as he attempted to ground the ball. 

Free-flowing attack from the home side almost gave Saints their second score five minutes into the second-half, as McParland put Brown through a gap with Savala on his shoulder. That effort went begging but Northampton did get their second score just a minute later. 

McParland was involved again as he peeled right off the back a scrum in Nottingham’s 22 and sent Tom Litchfield through a gap, only for the centre to find debutant winger Cousins – who grounded the ball with his first touch of the match to score his first points in Black, Green and Gold. 

Makepeace-Cubitt’s conversion made it 12-26 and Saints were straight back on the scoresheet when McParland turned defence into attack. The scrum-half – who was named in England A’s squad earlier this week – first turned the ball over at the breakdown before getting himself on the end Gavin Thornbury’s offload just two passes later to race in down the right.

And Saints then quickly had themselves the bonus-point score, getting deep into Nottingham territory before Makepeace-Cubitt sent a perfectly-weighted crossfield kick over to a waiting Brown on the left wing. 

Makepeace-Cubitt added the conversion from out wide to level the scores but three points from Arden’s boot put the away side back ahead as Saints failed to release in a tackle. 

The lead was short-lived though as a stellar solo-effort from hooker Wright saw the 20-year-old burst through Nottingham’s line, bumping his way past three defenders before grounding the ball out on the right to put Saints two points ahead going into the final ten minutes. 

And though Nottingham fought valiantly as the clock entered the red, Saints managed to turn the ball over at the breakdown, with replacement scrum-half Jonny Weimann feeding Makepeace-Cubitt to send the ball into the stands and seal the five-point win for Saints. 

The men in Black, Green and Gold now enjoy a rest week before wrapping up the first block of Premiership Rugby Cup clashes with a trip to Butts Park Arena in Round 3 to face Coventry Rugby on Saturday 23 November (kick-off: 3pm).

LINE-UPS:

Saints: Baker, Witheat, Litchfield, Savala, Garside, Makepeace-Cubitt, McParland; Haffar, Wright, Green, Spencer, Thornbury, Brown, Scott-Young (c), Logan. 
Replacements: N Langdon, West, Scola, Prowse, Benson, Weimann, Pasco, Cousins.

Nottingham: Stapley, Williams (c), Christian-Goss, Pohe, Graham, Arden, Goodwin; Sio, Dicksinson, Loman, Ecclesfield, Ferreira, Green, Wright, Cherry.
Replacements: Harris, Owen, Valentine, Bryan, Shine, Yarnell, Johal, Mercer.