Saints shine under the midweek lights but miss out on Premiership Cup semi-finals

The unusual sight of midweek rugby at Franklin’s Gardens ended with Northampton Saints keeping their winning run going as their youthful line-up defeated Newcastle Falcons 34-26 in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
Reece Marshall shows his delight as he goes over for his tryReece Marshall shows his delight as he goes over for his try
Reece Marshall shows his delight as he goes over for his try

Saints ran in five tries to record their fourth win in a row in all competitions, even though results elsewhere meant this was not enough for them to earn themselves an unlikely semi-final spot.

Falcons needed a win themselves to reach the last four, but they were always playing catch up against a home side that handed debuts to Jake Garside, Duane Willemsen, Leroy O’Neil, Callum Burns and Pete White.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Temperatures were low and it took the match a while to warm up, in truth, although this was once again a night when several youngsters gave a glimpse of a bright future.

Jake Garside tries to claim a loose ballJake Garside tries to claim a loose ball
Jake Garside tries to claim a loose ball

Saints were forced into one late change, as illness ruled out scrum-half Connor Tupai, with Jake Garside coming in for his senior bow and Coventry loanee White being named on the bench.

It did not take long for try-hungry teenager George Hendy to get involved, as he stretched his legs down the left wing, with his off-load unfortunately not going to hand.

There was also a great piece of tracking back by right winger Josh Gillespie, who made up a lot of ground to make a great tackle on Iwan Stephens, who had looked certain to go clear.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Following these near misses, Northampton broke through after 11 minutes when Bedford Blues loanee Luke Frost forced his way over from close range after a driving maul had fallen just short.

Action from Saints' win over Newcastle FalconsAction from Saints' win over Newcastle Falcons
Action from Saints' win over Newcastle Falcons

After James Grayson’s conversion, Newcastle’s own maul quickly drew them level, with hooker Robbie Smith being given an armchair ride to the line by his forwards before former Saint Joel Hodgson added the extras.

Saints were having the better of play, however, and they restored their lead with a try almost identical to their first, back rower JJ Tonks this time being the man to plunge over, with the score going unconverted.

The Falcons were repeatedly infringing in their own 22 and referee Jack Makepeace finally lost patience after 28 minutes when Smith was sin-binned.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Yet another penalty given away by the visitors at the resulting scrum led to Saints’ third try as Garside quickly tapped before darting through a gap to mark his big night in style.

It was then the hosts’ turn to be penalised several times in succession, but their defence held firm to ensure their 19-7 remained intact going into half-time.

Stephens almost struck early in the second half when he found some space before kicking ahead, but Hendy did a very good job of sweeping back and gathering close to his own line.

Advantage was being played, however, and after the resulting penalty was kicked to touch, Smith went over off the back of a driving maul for the second time in the night, with Hodgson’s conversion reducing the gap to five points.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Northampton’s response was a swift one and they had the bonus point in the bag just before the hour mark when Reece Marshall, an early replacement for the injured James Fish, charging over near the posts.

Newcastle still were not going away quietly and a neat move off a solid scrum led to Hodgson putting his captain, Pete Lucock, through a gap and he shrugged off Joel Matavesi to go clear.

Skipper for the night Grayson then nudged Saints eight points clear with a penalty after 67 minutes, following another infringement at the breakdown by the visitors.

The hosts then grabbed the try of the night with 10 minutes left, although there was some luck at the start of the move as Tom Litchfield gathered a shanked kick by Grayson inside his own half.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He managed to off-load to Hendy, who powered his way past a couple of opponents before passing back outside for Litchfield to streak away from 40 metres out.

The Falcons managed a good score of their own just a few minutes later, with Zach Kerr running into space before timing his pass to give Marcus Tiffen a comfortable run to the line.

This was, however, a night where both teams’ cup campaigns came to an end, although Saints managed to warm a few hearts on a freezing night at the Gardens along the way.

Match facts

Saints: Hendy (F Sleightholme 71), Gillespie, Litchfield, J Matavesi, Naiyaravoro (E Grayson 31), J Grayson, J Garside (White 57), Hobbs-Awoyemi, Fish (Marshall 8), Prowse (O’Neil 60), Frost, Lockett (Burns 40), Willemsen (Patten 33), Tonks, Irvine (K Garside 50)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Falcons: Tait (Johnson 68), Lindsay-Hague, Wright (Kerr 59), Lucock, Stephens, Hodgson, Blackett (Douglas 63), Cade (Cooper 50), Smith (Fletcher 59), Palframan (Brantingham 50), Merrick, Farrar (Okemuo 63), Maddison, Tiffen, Deehan (Bennett-Teare 68)

Related topics: