Dragons blown away by Northampton Saints
API Ratuniyarawa produced a wrecking-ball display as Northampton exorcised some ghosts from last week’s crushing loss to Newcastle to strengthen their Challenge Cup chances.
The Fijian strongman was influential from the off, having a hand in Luther Burrell’s opening try, bagging one of his own soon afterwards and proving too physical for Dragons to handle.
Try doubles for Burrell and Taqele Naiyaravoro added to further five-pointers from James Fish, Alex Mitchell and Ollie Sleightholme boosted Saints ahead of next week’s trip to Timisoara.
Ratuniyarawa said: “We had a good review of last week’s game and needed to get this win. We didn’t convert pressure into points against Newcastle but today we took our chances.
“We talk about playing rugby and we delivered. Timisoara will be another good challenge next week but we want to do well in Europe and we’ll go there looking for another big win.”
Northampton were on the board early when Burrell crashed over from Mitchell’s pass after strong build-up play from Ratuniyarawa, Alex Moon, Tom Wood and Teimana Harrison.
Saints suffered a blow when full-back George Furbank was withdrawn after a head knock but they were straight back on the attack and Richard Hibbard did well to bundle Sleightholme into touch.
Pressure eventually told when Ratuniyarawa steamed on to Mitchell’s pass for the seconmd try.
Dragons rallied, forcing three close-range lineouts, but from the third Hibbard felt the full force of a Ben Franks monster hit as he drove for the line and followed Furbank to the sick bay.
Andrew Kellaway, on for Furbank, made good ground and combined well with Rory Hutchinson and Fish to create further alarm in the Dragons ranks. Poor discipline let Northampton down though, typified by Naiyaravoro’s needless sinbinning for a no-arms hit on Adam Warren.
However, short-handed Saints were galvanised before half-time and, after Kellaway narrowly failed to gather Dan Biggar’s steepling cross-kick, further home pressure produced a penalty and a close-range lineout from which Moon found Wood and then looped around to finish.
Biggar converted for a 19-
0 interval lead but Dragons came out breathing fire and were instantly on the board when Warren collected a neat Hallam Amos punt to cut the deficit.
Dragons joy was doused though, as Burrell powered over for his second try and the Saints try-bonus.
Jack Dixon sliced through Northampton’s midfield and offloaded neatly to Warren as Dragons sought a riposte. But the ball was turned over enabling Saints to build pressure and, after Naiyaravoro and Ratuniyarawa softened the Dragons rearguard, the former leapt to touch down.
Naiyaravoro went on the charge again before offloading to Harrison who promptly steamrollered Josh Lewis and presented Mitchell with a run to the line.
Hutchinson got in on the act by skipping through the Dragons midfield and when the ball found its way via Jamie Gibson to Burrell, he sent in Naiyaravoro for another crowd-pleasing finish.
Four tries in 11 minutes had ended the contest and the inevitable raft of substitutions did not help. Neither did further indiscipline from Saints who conceded 15 penalties in all. “We need to eliminate the clear and obvious dumb penalties,” growled their rugby director Chris Boyd.
However, there was life in the final five minutes as Nic Cudd barrelled over for Dragons before sweet hands from Fraser Strachan, Wood and Burrell enabled Sleightholme to bag try No.8.
Dragons were thrashed 59-10 by Leinster last week, but after two heavy losses boss Bernard Jackman reflected: “It sounds strange but today was an improvement and we had a lot of the game. We’ll have our internationals back now before a big Christmas period.”