Northampton Saints 50 Vodacom Bulls 5: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings
As the old saying goes - you can only beat what's in front of you.
And Saints didn't just beat the Bulls on Sunday afternoon, they bossed them.
From start to finish, you rarely felt the black, green and gold were in any danger of conceding, never mind suffering defeat.
The Bulls, who left out the likes of Handrè Pollard and Canan Moodie, only managed one score on the day, capitalising on a loose ball close to halfway for Stravino Jacobs to run it in.
For the next couple of minutes, the South African side got their hopes up as they looked to push into Saints territory again.
But those efforts soon fell flat and they were quickly back on the back foot.
Saints played the majority of this match in opposition territory.
They were met by some resilient Bulls defending in the first half, but eventually sucked the life out of them in the second period.
Once the bonus-point score came for Saints on 56 minutes, the floodgates really opened as the home side took the shackles off and ran riot as they can so often do when the opposition starts to tire.
Saints kept their foot on the gas until the end to rack up another convincing home win against the Bulls, who also shipped a half-century of points on their previous visit to Northampton last year.
By opting to leave out key men, the Bulls had no real spark and they made some basic errors, notably missing touch on several occasions.
It was to Saints' credit though that time and again, they were alive enough to stop the ball going dead, with the likes of George Furbank and George Hendy showing some excellent handling skills to deny the opposition any sort of field position.
A strange yellow card for Bulls prop Alulutho Tshakweni, who tried to trip Manny Iyogun, really ended any hopes the Bulls had, but, in truth, they never really showed enough to have even a glimmer of hope when it came to claiming the victory.
Again though, Saints must be praised for managing to make this so comfortable.
In fact, it was the most comfortable, drama-free Champions Cup success at the Gardens in recent memory.
Saints almost exclusively controlled the ball and the territory and even though they couldn't find as many gaps as they would have liked in the first half, they made up for that during the second.
It was ultimately a hugely convincing win that means they had managed to make it a perfect 10 points at the start of this latest Champions Cup adventure.
It gives them the platform to go to Bordeaux on the second weekend of January and really give it a go against the team that beat them in the final last season.
The French giants have also started with back-to-back bonus-point successes and there is no doubt that will be the acid test in this pool-stage bid for Saints.
But the fact they can go to Stade Chaban-Delmas with a full complement of points means they will be in a strong position to progress no matter what the outcome.
And if that means they can play with the sort of freedom we saw late on in this match, then that will make them a very dangerous animal indeed.
How they rated…
GEORGE FURBANK – just oozes class. In the week when he was linked with a move to Harlequins, he put all the transfer talk to one side to keep fully focused. Made a couple of great grabs to stop Bulls penalties going into touch… 8.5
GEORGE HENDY – said it last week and we’ll say it again – he’s some finisher these days. Helped himself to a hat-trick here and his direct running made him a real threat all day… 9
RORY HUTCHINSON – took a bang to the leg during the first half but returned to the field and will be glad he did as space started to open up as the game went on… 7.5
FRASER DINGWALL – another game where you watch it back and realise just how many key interventions he makes to help his team maintain momentum. On the ground and in the air, he had a say… 8
OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME – the guy scores tries, and his second was particularly notable as he showed real strength to hold off Bulls defenders and get the ball down… 8
FIN SMITH – CHRON STAR MAN – a couple of tidy try assists, including one excellent grubber that helped Hendy to score and Saints to take the game fully out of Bulls’ grasp during the early second-half exchanges. His clever kicking proved so key… 9
ALEX MITCHELL – the game came alive in the second half and, as ever, he thrived, helping to take the air out of the Bulls with his typically up-tempo play… 8.5
DANILO FISCHETTI – gave as good as he got at scrum time and his experience is very useful on the big stage. Topped Saints’ tackle count on the day… 7.5
CRAIG WRIGHT – took a knock in the first half but battled on, which was no surprise as this guy seems to be savouring every single minute of game time right now… 7.5
TREVOR DAVISON – helped Saints to stay strong up front against a big Bulls pack and worked hard on a day when that was what was required to wear down the away side… 7.5
ALEX COLES – saw one try ruled out but wouldn’t be denied as he later etched his name on the scoresheet. Just seems to excel in every game these days… 8.5
JJ VAN DER MESCHT – already a massive fans’ favourite and was given a huge reception when he came off. You can tell he’s loving life at Saints because he’s suddenly producing offloads that the backs would be proud of. Great hands for a big man… 8.5
JOSH KEMENY – kept going right to the end, adding the try that took Saints to a half-century. Also got stuck in to turn the ball over at the breakdown and showed his athleticism when space opened up for him… 8.5
TOM PEARSON – a contender for player of the match as he seemed to be everywhere at times, flying around the field and refusing to give the Bulls a second to breathe… 9
HENRY POLLOCK – almost added to his ever-increasing highlights reel by running in from close to halfway, but did notch another try and was all-action once again… 9
Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)
ROBBIE SMITH (for Wright 50) – played his part in Kemeny’s late score and looked hungry for action during his time on the pitch, finishing just two tackles shy of top spot for Saints… 7.5
MANNY IYOGUN – (for Fischetti 50) – quickly helped Saints to win a scrum penalty and put himself about in typically energetic fashion… 7.5
CLEOPAS KUNDIONA (for Davison 50) – looks to be developing nicely at Saints and was able to make a decent impact here… 7
TOBY THAME (for Dingwall 58) – came on twice as he had a brief spell on for Hutchinson in the first half and then replaced Dingwall in the second. An assured showing and got stuck in… 7