Rugby Union: Northampton survive Bristol revival

Northampton. . .16

Bristol . . . . .6

YOU would have to go a long way to see a fiercer start than these two teams produced in their first League game of the season at Franklins Gardens. In the opening 10 minutes, countless attacks foundered because a man with the ball was knocked backwards. Clearly there were points to prove, not to mention points at stake, and both teams seemed desperate to do the proving.

On this evidence Bristol are more of a force than their 10th position last season suggests. The way they harried and hustled Northampton suggests 1991-92 was an aberration.

It is a tribute to the overall experience of Northampton's international forwards that, despite the pace of the game and the ferocity of some of the exchanges, they could still do enough to stop it getting out of hand. Northampton and Wayne Shelford have come to be synonymous. Whereas in a game at the end of last season the great New Zealander had been able to showboat, play fast and loose, popping up in some unlikely places, yesterday he had to lend all hands to the pump. So did Tim Rodber, his apprentice, Martin Bayfield, Gary Pearce and the lively John Olver.

Bayfield had his fill in the line-out, though why it was felt necessary to lift him again and again, for which Northampton were penalised at least once, goodness only knows. In the opening minutes this 6ft 10in giant helped the Saints to weather the storm.

Neither side will want to play again in a match that was so dominated by the piercing screech of the referee's whistle. Little wonder it was so crash, bang, wallop. It was stop-start from beginning to end. There were 32 penalties and free-kicks in the first half alone. Referee Chris Rees may have been technically correct every single time he blew up, though I doubt it, but he was pernickety.

Northampton had secured this game within 30 minutes after John Steele had kicked a penalty and then, from an indirect free-kick, Rodber was worked over for a try that Steele converted. Despite their pressure, Bristol could only score one penalty. It was kicked by Andy May, who is surely the heaviest stand-off in senior rugby.

Bristol made the running in the second half, their lively forwards being no respecters of persons. May, whose out-of-hand kicking was quite good, could not convert more than one penalty. He will have to improve his place-kicking.

Northampton: N Beal; F Packman, M Dawson, R MacNaughton, H Thorneycroft; J Steele, D Elkington; G Baldwin, J Olver (capt), G Pearce, M Bayfield, J Etheridge, T Rodber, R Tebbutt, W Shelford.

Bristol: P Hull; K Morgan, D Ring, R Knibbs, M Lloyd; A May, K Bracken; A Sharp, M Regan, D Hinkins, P Adams, A Blackmore, R Armstrong, D Eves (capt), C Barrow.

Referee: R C Rees (RFU).

Scores: Steele (pen, 3 min, 3-0); Rodber/Steele (try/conv, 28 min, 10-0); May (pen, 40 min, 10-3); May (pen, 49 min, 10-6); Steele (pen, 50 min, 13-6); Steele (pen, 71 min, 16-6).