Director of Rugby Phil Dowson pointed to his side’s failure to apply scoreboard pressure as a key reason behind Northampton Saints’ defeat to Leicester Tigers.
A solitary Tommy Freeman try and Fin Smith penalty were all the men in Black, Green and Gold had to show for their attacking efforts as their East Midlands rivals triumphed 24-8 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Saturday evening.
It wasn’t for the want of trying as the visitors saw five surges for the line referred to the Television Match Official, with the verdicts falling in favour of the hosts who completed the win with tries from Freddie Steward, Olly Cracknell and Ollie Chessum in addition to nine points from the boot of Handre Pollard.
“We created opportunities but didn’t convert them and therefore you don’t create scoreboard heat on them and they got the upper hand,” said Dowson, whose side return to action on Friday night against Sale Sharks at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
“You take solace from lots of different sources: performances of players, parts of our game, but there’s always things to reflect on and be better at.
“There were things we did do pretty well and we didn’t get some of the reward that could have changed the momentum of the game.”
Phil Dowson
“When you’re playing at home and the game is going deep, the scoreboard does have an impact so having that pressure on Leicester wouldn’t have allowed them to play so freely.
“If it becomes a tighter game in terms of the score, it begins to become interesting but it looks like a bit of a thumping.”
With Alex Mitchell and Tom James unavailable for selection, scrum-half Archie McParland gained a second Premiership start while Henry Pollock arrived early from the bench to replace the injured Sam Graham.
“Archie McParland was excellent,” Dowson said. “He did a lot of good things and he'll be so much better for that experience.
“Henry Pollock’s impact off the bench was outstanding and we’re excited about where he can go.”
Saints were also without mainstays such as Fraser Dingwall and Alex Coles for the East Midlands Derby and Dowson was hopeful to see some additional players available for selection to face Sale on Friday.
He said: “Obviously the medical room is a revolving door – there’s people going into it and people coming out of it all the time so we’ll make sure our focus is on getting better and taking some scars from today and moving forward.”
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