Hartley try helps Boyd get his first win at the Gardens
DYLAN Hartley’s triumphal return to action at Franklin’s Gardens would have thrilled watching England boss Eddie Jones on a night that was long on effort but short of quality.
After half-an-hour at Gloucester last week, Hartley emerged from the bench on 46 minutes for his first home appearance in eight months and promptly bagged a try.
Latching on at the back of a perfectly executed lineout drive ten minutes after his arrival, the England hooker forced his way over for what proved to be the decisive score, with 17 points from the boot of Dan Biggar and a late Harry Mallinder penalty helping to sink brave Harlequins.
This was no Friday night special from Saints though – they butchered far too many opportunities for that. However, after a game in which the visitors fought valiantly and were camped on the home line searching for a tying score at the death, Hartley was not minded to complain.
“These were games we were losing last season,” he said. “There are a lot of wrongs we want to put right – personally as well – so it’s nice to draw a line under that and come out on the right side of one of these games. There were really encouraging signs.”
Chris Boyd’s Saints revolution is in its infancy and, by Hartley’s own admission, he personally still has “work to do”. But both men drew comfort from the fact that when heat came on from Quins, their set-piece bailed them out.
Hartley added: “We talk about attacking shape, philosophy and all those fluffy things, but the bedrock of Northampton is a solid setpiece and it’s nice that we can use it effectively.
“There were times when Harlequins defended really well and we forced things and tried to be too creative, but we went back to the basics and got over the line.”
Boyd, more accustomed to the razzle-dazzle rugby of New Zealand than the Premiership’s version of thud and blunder, admitted during the week that he was on a crash-course in the vagaries of English rugby – and he wouldn’t have been disappointed here.
On a perfect evening – bone dry, no wind, neither too hot nor too cold – the former Hurricanes boss would have been horrified to see his side blow six decent try-scoring chances in the first 20 minutes either through handling errors or poor skill execution.
A scintillating early break from Tom Collins would have been rewarded but for Marcus Smith’s excellent cover tackle, and Smith repeated his effort a few minutes later on Piers Francis.
For the most part, though, Saints pinned Quins back and, after Smith and Biggar exchanged penalties, the latter nailed three further kicks for a 12-3 lead just after the break.
Danny Care’s sniped try dragged Quins back into the contest, but Hartley’s party piece followed and when Biggar added a 63rd minute penalty for a 22-10 lead, that seemed to be that.
Not so. Smith banged over a penalty before James Lang burst clear to set up a frantic finish that Hartley and his cohorts were mightily relieved to withstand.