Hartley’s Lions audition
England captain scores try to give Gatland timely nudge
As he took his place on the bench on 66 minutes, Dylan Hartley’s afternoon could not have gone any better. In his final Lions audition, the England captain had scored his first club try since January 2014, coincidentally going past his direct rival Jamie George on the try-line, in an excellent individual and team performance.
Then everything unravelled. Whether it was related or not, Northampton disintegrated in Hartley’s absence as Saracens, inspired by a host of replacements led by Billy Vunipola, sealed victory in the 78th minute through Marcelo Bosch’s try, which was converted by the outstanding Alex Lozowski.
Saints have lost in the dying moments for a third consecutive game. Their composure, as well as their basic ability to tackle, deserted them in the final quarter. Even accounting for a couple of injuries and disputed refereeing decisions, it was a meek surrender against a Saracens side missing most of their stars in preparation for their Champions Cup quarterfinal against Munster on Saturday.
Not that there was a shortage of talent for the watching Steve Borth- wick, the Lions assistant coach. George Kruis started in the second row, his first game since Christmas Eve after his various cheek, knee and ankle ailments, alongside teenager Nick Isiekwe. He lasted the full 80 minutes and ran a solid line-out operation. Opposite him, Courtney Lawes was thunderous throughout with his carrying and tackling.
Yet the main contest was always destined to be Hartley v George, the captain versus the understudy, whose roles could well be reversed in the squad announcement on Wednesday. Hartley probably edged the individual battle, matching set-piece solidity with a high work-rate around the pitch.
“I thought Dylan had a really good game,” Jim Mallinder, the Northampton director of rugby, said. “He did his basics well. He threw in really well, carried, tackled, so I was really pleased with him. He was injured early on in the season and he worked really hard to get himself fit for the Six Nations and he’s improving every week.”
George was brought off on the 50-minute mark with the Munster game six days away. The 26-yearold will be in training when Warren Gatland unveils the chosen few on Wednesday but admitted: “I’d be lying if I said it’s not in your mind. It was a good contest against Dylan, it was always going to be a physical one. The way the game went it was a fierce set-piece battle and I’m pretty happy with the way it went.”
Saracens have kept the pressure on Exeter for the right to contest a home semi-final, while Northamp- ton move ahead of Harlequins into sixth place via their losing bonus point. Their match against Harlequins on the final weekend looks destined to be a shoot-out for Champions Cup qualification.
Northampton took the lead on seven minutes. Stephen Myler put up a high bomb that Ken Pisi gathered before releasing Harry Mallinder. They lost No 8 Louis Picamoles and fly-half Stephen Myler to injury by half-time, but still seemed in control after Hartley broke off a maul to score before Pisi benefited from full-back Ahsee Tuala’s outrageous offload.
Saracens sent for the calvary, and they duly delivered. Vunipola arrived breathing fire, getting into it with the crowd and drawing an admonishment from referee Matthew Carley for too much chatter. It was his quick tap penalty that allowed fellow replacements Nick Tompkins and Chris Ashton to combine for a score in the corner.
Lozowski missed the conversion but his fifth penalty of the afternoon with four minutes remaining brought it to within a score.
What happened next was inevitable. Northampton coughed the ball up in midfield and Lozowski and Jackson Wray led a breakout through the centre before they switched left, where Schalk Brits fed Bosch. Lozowski, who must have impressed the watching Eddie Jones, delivered the decisive conversion.