Match Report: Northampton Saints 36

Northampton Saints wrapped up their preseason fixtures by claiming a six-try victory in the first fixture of the new format of the Mobbs Memorial Match.

Under the floodlights at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, tributes were made to Saints legend, World Rugby Hall-of-Fame inductee, and World War One hero, Edgar Mobbs, before an entertaining encounter ensued between the strategic partner clubs.

Three of Saints’ England internationals helped themselves to tries in the first half as George Furbank struck twice and was followed over the line by Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall. Bedford went in at the break 17 points adrift with Nathan Langdon getting on the scoresheet against his parent club.

A keenly-contested second period saw Charlie Savala and Tarek Haffar tries be countered by Louis James’ effort for the Championship visitors as Phil Dowson’s side ensured they’d enter next week’s Gallagher Premiership opener against Bath with a victory against their name.

FIRST HALF

Fewer than three minutes had elapsed when Saints opened the scoring. Rory Hutchinson was rewarded for his bravery at the breakdown with a penalty award that was punted to touch. After some patient phase play, Smith unlocked the defence with a delicate chip deep into the left corner of the in-goal area where captain Furbank gathered and grounded with inches to spare. Smith’s touchline conversion struck a post.

The same two players combined for the second try. With Bedford on the backfoot from a powerful scrum, Smith glided laterally and fed Furbank on a devilish angle to breeze over under the posts setting up a routine conversion to follow.

A Saintsman scored the third try, but this time in the colours of Bedford as loanee hooker Nathan Langdon finished a forceful rolling maul that Will Maisey expertly converted to cut the gap to five.

The Gardens were purring with appreciation as three moments of magic unlocked the visiting defence. With the freedom of penalty advantage, Tom James and Callum Hunter-Hill neatly both scooped the ball between their legs allowing Ollie Sleightholme to break and grubber in-field for Smith to ground under the noses of Barwell Stand spectators.

Six minutes before the break, a bludgeoning Josh Kemeny run deep into the 22 was converted into points when Dingwall grounded from a few metres out. Smith made up for his previous conversion miss by adding the extras from a similar position to put Saints 24-7 up at the break.

SECOND HALF

Two of Saints’ eight changes at the break got the second-half scoring underway three minutes after the restart when Savala found a gap and added two points from the kicking tee.

When Fred Tuilagi saw yellow for an offence on the goalline, Saints recorded their sixth try of the evening through Haffar’s bludgeoning run from the resulting five-metre penalty.

Just as they did in the first half, Bedford struck back when James was on hand to ground the loose ball after a deft chip from Maisey was kept in play by loanee Saintsman Will Glister under pressure from James Ramm.

Both sides emptied their benches as the game lost some scoring momentum in the final quarter until stoppage time when a sweeping Bedford move was finished off once more by James.

Furbank lifted the Mobbs Memorial trophy as attentions now turn to defending the Gallagher Premiership title, starting with a visit to The Rec to take on last season’s defeated finalists in Round 1.

LINE UPS:

SAINTS: 15 Furbank (c), 14 Sleightholme, 13 Dingwall, 12 Hutchinson, 11 Ramm, 10 Smith, 9 James; 1 West, 2 Wright, 3 Green, 4 Hunter-Hill, 5 Scott-Young, 6 Pollock, 7 Kemeny, 8 Brown.
Replacements: C Langdon, Haffar, Davison, Prowse, Ainsworth-Cave, Perkins*, Graham, Logan, McParland, Savala, Witheat, Va’enuku*, Thame, Seabrook.

BLUES: 15 Worley, 14 A Garside, 13 Titherington, 12 Le Bourgeois, 11 Adamson, 10 Maisey, 9 Lennon; 1 Conway, 2 N Langdon, 3 Heffernan, 4 Ward, 5 Woolford, 6 Frost, 7 Arthur, 8 King.
Replacements: Jack, Herman, O’Connor, Kerry, Benson, Tuilagi, J Garside, Glister, Matavesi, Elliott, Cousins, James.