Collins try gets Saints out of jail
TEIMANA Harrison proudly declared “you can’t teach heart” after Northampton rallied to edge an 11try thriller.
Saints looked dead and buried when they went down to 13 men and fell 32-17 and 39-24 behind at key points. But despite what director of rugby Chris Boyd called a “rubbish” first half, they somehow roused themselves as the Dragons threw victory away with Elliot Dee in the sin bin.
Northampton captain Harrison said: “We had a poor first half and then decided to turn up for the second. You can’t teach heart and I’m very proud to be a part of this team.
“To go down to 13 men is a hard place to be but you can never write us off even though we left it a bit late.”
Tom Collins’ late try won it for Saints against all odds, but Boyd said: “The first half was rubbish. We made dumb decisions and didn’t work hard enough.
“We talked about if we played with tempo we might get some joy in the last 15 minutes and that turned out to be true when we put the hammer down.
“I don’t think either defence coach will be happy – I thought we were playing tag at half time.”
Dragons were the better side for all bar the final 15 minutes. They led 22-10 at the break, but like Cardiff Blues and Ospreys, they grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sam Davies kicked the hosts ahead before two fine Ashton Hewitt tries, the first of which came from a neat Jamie Roberts kick ahead. Hewitt suffered a knee injury scoring his second effort after Matthew Schreech had also scored for Dragons.
Saints were shocking before the break and Ollie Sleightholme was yellow carded for foul play, but they gave themselves a lifeline when Taqele Naiyaravoro waltzed over.
Northampton scored 28 seconds into the second period. Naiyaravoro went through a gap, the supporting Alex Mitchell kicked ahead, and Sleightholme did the rest. James Grayson converted, but Davies responded immediately with three points.
In the 47th minute Northampton lost two men to yellow cards – Alex Coles for a breakdown offence and JJ Tonks for a dangerous tackle on Davies – and Davies promptly dived over for a fourth try he improved.
At 32-17 up and with a two-man advantage, Dragons were in total control, but Saints scrum-half Mitchell scored a wonderful solo effort. Dragons prop Leon Brown and Harrison then swapped quick tries as the incessant scoring continued. Suddenly, Saints had momentum.
Dee was yellow carded for trying to illegally stop Northampton momentum and Naiyaravoro scored in the corner. Grayson’s conversion set up a thrilling finale and Collins won it for Saints after Henry Taylor kicked ahead.
Dragons director of rugby Dean Ryan said: “We were more worried about making a mistake than stopping Northampton at the end and they took advantage.”