Fin Smith upstages Owen Farrell in crucial Northampton win over Saracens

Northampton 41 Saracens 30

Never mind Good Friday - this could not have been a better one for Northampton, whose bonus-point dispatching of Saracens opened up daylight between them and the chasing pack at the top of the Premiership table. And, on this form, against a Saracens side which had obliterated Harlequins last week, Northampton are palpably the team to beat for the season’s denouement.

Six tries the Saints ran in and they were worth every one of them in this terrifically topsy-turvy match, which was still firmly in the balance until the 60th minute. After a scintillating start which gave Northampton 17 points after as many minutes, Saracens twice fought back to within a score - both from kicks charged down. It was the try of Tommy Freeman through some feeble midfield defence which ultimately sealed both the victory and the bonus point, with the magnificent Ollie Sleightholme running in a long-range effort late on with Saracens chasing the game. Alex Lewington’s late double at least secured a bonus point for the visitors.

The star of Saints’ show was the victor of the high-profile head-to-head at fly-half, with master Owen Farrell against apprentice Fin Smith. Smith’s distribution was so regal in a winning cause that his late sin bin and atrocious dropped-goal attempt can be overlooked. Smith is not a star in the making; he is a star in the present.

“Finn’s game understanding is really impressive,” said Phil Dowson, Northampton director of rugby. “He has been involved [with England], got capped and he is better at dealing with going from that international stage to this stage.”

Northampton could not have exorcised the demons of last weekend’s hammering at Bristol any more explosively. Freeman and the sensational Curtis Langdon all charged with venom in the opening exchanges before Smith’s sleight of hand did Jamie George - on his return to the starting XV - and Lucio Cinti up like kippers. Alex Coles strolled over unopposed to open the scoring.

After Billy Vunipola had slotted a sumptuous touch-finder off the outside of his boot, Saints were at it again. Sleightholme, surely on the verge of an England call-up, left Saracens chasing shadows, stepping off his left, his right, and then hitting the gas before being brought down a metre short by Lewington. The wing’s pop found James Ramm via the shoulder of Coles and Saints had a second. The footage of the grounding was inconclusive but the evidence to overrule referee Luke Pearce had to be incontrovertible. Saints undoubtedly got the rub of the green but Sleightholme’s dash was so breathtaking; it deserved a score.

With Alex Mitchell still nursing a hand injury picked up during England’s loss in France, Tom James started at scrum-half for Northampton and it was from his box-kick that the match’s momentum was savagely altered. Theo McFarland charged down James at the base, and the bounce of the ball was kind for the Samoan lock to score. Farrell’s conversion and a subsequent penalty meant the Saints’s lead was reduced from 17 to just seven points at the break.

Farrell cut the deficit to four after a harsh ruck penalty against Courtney Lawes, before Ramm cut a line from the Gods off the passing of Smith to canter over for his second and Northampton’s third. It should be noted, too, that it was James’ break which gave Northampton the field position for the score, atoning for his first-half blunder.

“I was a bit concerned as today felt effort-related,” said Mark McCall, Saracens director of rugby. “And we don’t like that. We showed some grit to come back into the game but we are disappointed.”

Saracens’ second resurgence came at the hands of Ramm. It was his charge down, Saints’s second of the evening, which led to replacement Ben Earl keeping the visitors in the hunt.

But Freeman’s score and Sleightholme’s runaway sealed the Saints’ victory. Lewington’s double consolation, after a spell in the sin bin, could do nothing to take the Easter weekend away from Northampton.

Match facts

Scoring sequence: 5-0 Coles try, 7-0 Smith con, 12-0 Ramm try, 14-0 Smith con, 17-0 Smith pen, 17-5 McFarland try, 17-7 Farrell con, 17-10 Farrell pen, 17-13 Farrell pen, 22-13 Ramm try, 24-13 Smith con, 27-13 Smith pen, 27-18 Earl try, 27-20 Farrell con, 32-20 Freeman try, 34-20 Smith con, 39-20 Sleightholme try, 41-20 Smith con, 41-25 Lewington try, 41-30 Lewington try. 
H-T: 17-10

Northampton Saints: J Ramm (Litchfield 74); T Freeman, B Odendaal, F Dingwall, O Sleightholme; F Smith, T James (McParland 76); E Iyogun (Waller 46), C Langdon (Matavesi 59), T Davison (Prowse 69), A Moon (Mayanavanua 61), A Coles, C Lawes (c) (Ludlam 56), T Pearson, J Augustus (Graham 46).

Yellow card: Smith 78

Saracens: E Daly (Goode 59); S Maitland, L Cinti, N Tompkins, A Lewington; O Farrell (c) (Simpson 69), I van Zyl; M Vunipola (Mawi 48), J George (Dan 48), M Riccioni (Judge 69), T McFarland, N Isiekwe (Tizard 64), J M Gonzalez (Earl 38), A Christie, B Vunipola (Willis 58).

Yellow card: Lewington 60

Referee: L Pearce

Attendance: 15,153