Leicester Tigers rain on Rob Horne's special day to take derby plaudits against Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints 15-23 Leicester Tigers: Saints outscored their East Midland rivals three tries to two but wayward kicking cost them dear, while Leicester lost Jonny May to injury
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Your support makes all the difference.Leicester Tigers spoiled Rob Horne’s special day as Northampton Saints suffered defeat in the first East Midlands derby of the season, but sadly injury was once again the big talking point after Jonny May left the field with just eight minutes on the clock.
With England’s four autumn internationals on the horizon next months and Eddie Jones due to name his squad a week on Thursday, May’s exit from the match will be of great concern given his form in the summer, with wing holding his arm in a makeshift sling.
The derby had or course been moved to Twickenham for a good cause out of tragic circumstances. Former Australia centre Rob Horne suffered life-changing injuries in this match at Welford Road last April, with both clubs putting on a show to help raise money for the 29-year-old, having lost the use of his right arm due to paralysis.
He was given a deserved standing ovation before kick-off as he produced the match ball, but he will have feared the worst when Tigers stretched out to a strong first-half lead thanks to tries from Ben Youngs and Jordan Owolofela, with Saints’ scores coming from Jamie Gibson and David Ribbans. However, the difference proved to be the boot of George Ford verses the boot of Dan Biggar; Ford landed both of his conversions and three penalties, while Biggar missed all three shots at goal. Saints did at least gain hope of a losing bonus point late on with Mike Haywood’s try, but it wasn’t enough as Biggar’s missed effort left them eight points adrift.
There was a strong community vibe surrounding Twickenham with 40,413 fans turning out to not only watch the derby but pay tribute to Horne, while the adopted ‘home’ side also donned individual socks for each player to represent clubs across Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk - not that Courtney Lawes got to put his on, with a back spasm in the warm-up ruling him out of the match before kick-off. Api Ratuniyarawa was promoted from the bench, with Tom Wood added to the matchday squad.
The first half was very much one of high attrition. With Lawes already gone, Leicester wing Jonny May followed him just eight minutes into the match with a right arm injury, leaving the field with it in makeshift sling. Saints then lose Ahsee Tuala and Cobus Reinach within two minutes of each other, while David Denton followed on the stroke of half-time. Painful to watch, painful to play.
With the heavens well and truly open as rain battered Twickenham all day, the match was an unsurprisingly scrappy one short on class. Both teams were happy to play without the ball, kicking it away after just one or two phases despite the notion of is being incredibly difficult to win games without the ball.
Leicester started the brighter side, with George Ford kicking them into the lead with a penalty when the Saints defence failed to roll away, but Saints hit back strongly and grew into the game as both lineouts faltered. However, when Dylan Hartley missed his jumper, the England skipper complained of a shove from his exiled international colleague Dan Cole, and from the ensuing penalty a successful catch and drive led to Jamie Gibson being shoved over the line by Ratuniyarawa to score.
Ford put Leicester back into the lead with a second penalty when the Leicester pack charged through their opponents in the scrum, before the match finally came to life after half an hour. Biggar sent up a high kick to clear Northampton’s lines, with wing Adam Thompstone timing his jump perfectly to catch the ball, pop it right to full-back Jonah Holmes to take Taqele Naiyaravoro and Luther Burrell out of play, and he released Ben Youngs inside him to score.
In fewer than 120 second, Saints were back beneath their posts. Holmes again provided the assist, fielding a charged-down kick from Ford to break up field, and he passed to May’s replacement Jordan Olowofela to just outpace Mallinder and touch down in the corner, Ford adding both conversions to give Leicester a healthy 20-5 lead.
Saints needed a response before the break, and they got one. A number of drives from close range saw the clock tick into its 46th minute before David Ribbans smartly rolled out of a tackle to score, though Biggar missed another conversion to see the teams head into the dry reserve of the changing rooms with a 10-point lead.
If the first half was heavily impacted by the conditions, the second was just a poor, disjointed game of rugby. Nearly half an hour flashed by with barely anything of note occurring, with a Ford penalty - after a good kick and chase from Youngs led to Biggar holding on - the only thing to trouble the scoreboard.
Saints went back to their tactic of trying to hold onto the ball and bludgeon their way around the edges, and it finally paid off when replacement hooker Haywood burrowed over from a driving maul in the same minute that he came onto the field, though Francois van Wyk’s presence in front of him certainly helped keep Greg Bateman out of his way.
Biggar missed his third conversion of the day though in what proved to be a wayward afternoon from the tee, and had he brought his kicking boots, perhaps Northampton would have taken something away from this match. But while it ended in disappointment for Saints, they were still able to hold their heads high knowing that the day belonged to Horne after honouring one of their own.
Teams
Northampton Saints: Harry Mallinder; Ahsee Tuala (Tom Collins, 32), Andrew Kellaway, Luther Burrell (Fraser Dingwall, 75), Taqele Naiyaravoro; Dan Biggar, Cobus Reinach (Alex Mitchell, 34-41 HIA, 64); Alex Waller (Francois van Wyk, 68), Dylan Hartley (Mike Haywood, 68), Ehren Painter (Ben Franks, 68); David Ribbans, Api Ratuniyarawa; Jamie Gibson (Tom Wood, 75), Lewis Ludlam (Mitch Eadie, 70), Teimana Harrison.
Leicester Tigers: Jonah Holmes; Adam Thompstone, Manu Tuilagi, Kyle Eastmond, Jonny May (Jordan Olowofela, 8); George Ford, Ben Youngs (Sam Harrison, 69); Greg Bateman (David Feao, 70), Tom Youngs (Ross McMillan, 68), Dan Cole Joe Heyes, 73); Mike Williams, Harry Wells; David Denton (Valentino Mapapalangi, 40, Sam Lewis, 75)), Guy Thompson, Sione Kalamafoni.
Replacements not used: Tom Hardwick.
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