SARACENS 55-24 NORTHAMPTON Back with a bang!
Sean Maitland’s hat-trick helps Sarries race to victory as top-flight rugby makes a storming return
This was painful viewing for the rest of the Premiership. But for anyone associated with Northampton watching Saracens run in seven first-half tries at Twickenham, this was closer to the type of practices banned by certain Swiss conventions.
There is no shame in losing to the European champions when they are in this type of mood. At the age of 36, Schalk Brits may have delivered his greatest performance, which as the greatest hooker in Premiership history is saying something.
He had a hand in five of the nine tries that Saracens scored, including an outrageous one-handed assist. “He’s Peter Pan,” Mark McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, said. “He’s an explosive athlete and his athleticism hasn’t gone away at all. His body is sore after games, but it was a stunning performance today.
“This is his ninth season at the club and he’s been a star from day one. He seems to save all of his best performances for Twickenham. I can remember so many breaks he’s made here. He’s a phenomenal player and hopefully we can give him a really good send-off this year.”
Vincent Koch, Schalk Burger, Alex Lozowski and Brad Barritt were also superb, while wing Sean Maitland grabbed a 14-minute hat-trick.
For Northampton, there is losing and then there is this, a wretched humiliation against a team they once considered rivals. Indeed, this was nominally a repeat of the 2014 Premiership final, in which Northampton were crowned champions through Alex Waller’s try in the last minute of extra time. Saints were even sporting the same luminous lime strip, but they were a pale green imitation of that side; at times, they barely resembled a Dog & Duck XV.
Since that final, the clubs have gone in opposite directions. Jim Mallinder, the Northampton director of rugby, was already under pressure after two seasons outside the top four. The 41-3 half-time scoreline was well within P45 territory. Questions also have to be asked of the on-field leadership of captain Dylan Hartley.
Fortunately, Saints were better after the break – they could not have been any worse – ‘winning’ the second half 21-14. Even if that restored a measure of pride, it remained the most hollow of victories, given that Saracens may well have applied a mercy rule at half-time.
Defeat of any kind against Leicester this Saturday at Franklin’s Gardens would surely be a death knell. One game into the season and Mallinder is already aware that Saints supporters’ knees are jerking rapidly. “We have played in some big games against them but next week is going to be big,” Mallinder said. “It’s vital for us that we get a win and get our season going.
“It was infuriating, it’s embarrassing, it’s disappointing. You think you prepare properly and you think we had a good pre-season. We thought we were ready for it, but clearly we weren’t. The first half, Saracens were clinical. Everything they did they put us under pressure, the turnovers, they scored at will. I think we can fix this without a doubt. We’ve got the players who can do that, but we certainly need to step up.”
Being kind, you could argue that Northampton were missing their three headline signings of Cobus Reinach, Piers Francis and Rob Horne, as well as George North. But then you remember that Saracens were missing the Vunipola brothers, Owen Farrell, Jamie George and Liam Williams while losing George Kruis after 25 minutes to a foot injury that will be assessed this week.
There can be no mitigation or excuses for the poverty of Northampton’s first-half performance. It was only the fourth time in Premiership history that a team have conceded seven tries in a half, with Northampton joining Rotherham (twice) and West Hartlepool in that particular hall of shame.
If there was any doubt about how Saracens would respond after spending most of their pre-season sunning themselves in Bermuda, then it was quickly dispelled.
Lozowski, the fly-half, delayed his pass perfectly to send Barritt over for the first try on nine minutes.
Three minutes later, Richard Wigglesworth profited from more slack defending after Koch and Burger had led a superb breakout. By now, the writing was well and truly on the wall. A turnover inside the Saracens 22 resulted in Barritt sending a perfect pass for Maitland’s first. Saracens had registered their bonus point inside half an hour, faster than any team managed in the whole of last season, through Lozowski, after Brits pulled off a wonderful one-handed pass of which Kobe Bryant would have been proud.
Brits, who has announced he is retiring at the end of the season, again provided the scoring pass for Maitland’s second. The hat-trick was a snapshot of Northampton’s manifold failings as Maitland had all the time in the world to tap the ball down after Barritt’s grubber kick. The sensational Koch, the tighthead prop, wrapped up the scoring for the half after making another charge through Northampton’s nonexistent defence.
Their bloodlust sated, Saracens’ tempo dropped in the second half while Northampton were no doubt reminded of the merits of tackling and ball-carrying by Mallinder at half-time. Flanker Tom Wood scored two tries, the second after prop Alex Waller broke free, and Lewis Ludlam, a rare bright spot for Saints, got the other. Saracens had to be content with just two more tries through the evergreen Brits and Ben Spencer, the replacement scrum-half.
Northampton were in the hunt for an attacking bonus point at the death, but that would have been far more than they deserved. Saracens, meanwhile, have sent an ominous message to the rest of the league that they are back, better than ever.