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New Zealand centre Matt Proctor crossed twice on his first Gallagher Premiership appearance as Northampton Saints demolished local rivals Leicester Tigers at Franklin’s Gardens.
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The Saints marched to a 36-13 bonus-point win – a fourth derby win on the spin – as Proctor’s double was added to by Api Ratuniyarawa, Tom Collins and Fraser Dingwall.
The Northampton backs had a field day as the likes of Rory Hutchinson and George Furbank flourished in the heat of the East Midlands derby.
Leicester, who had brought back all of their England World Cup players, could only respond through Guy Thompson’s first-half try and eight points from the boot of George Ford.
It means the Tigers remain second bottom, while Northampton are back at the Premiership summit with Bristol still to play on Sunday.
The Saints had been hit by a triple blow before kick-off as they lost experienced trio Owen Franks, Courtney Lawes and Dan Biggar to injury.
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Ehren Painter, Ratuniyarawa and James Grayson were the players asked to fill the void.
And Northampton soon lost another player as influential full-back Furbank was forced off for a head injury assessment.
Both teams failed to make anything stick during the opening 12 minutes, but Leicester were able to go in front thanks to a Ford penalty from in front of the posts.
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Furbank was able to return to the field soon after as Northampton tried to exert some pressure.
And they did just that, using a scrum in the Tigers 22 to eventually allow Cobus Reinach to send Proctor through a non-existent Leicester defence.
Tigers were dealt another blow as wing Jonah Holmes was forced off with an injury, but the away side scored soon after as flanker Thompson got the ball down.
Ford kicked to make it 10-7, but the scores were soon level as Grayson landed a penalty earned by Alex Waller’s rampaging run into the Tigers 22.
Saints then took the lead once more as fine combination play between Furbank and Hutchinson allowed Proctor to spin and score a second in the corner.
Grayson converted to a huge roar and Northampton were now firmly on top.
"It's an own goal for Leicester!"
The bonus point for @SaintsRugby! They might be a man down but Reinach finds the space and Collins cross with ease. pic.twitter.com/NIub82M71P
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) November 30, 2019
They scored again just before the break as Hutchinson released Proctor who ran a lovely line before giving the ball to man of the match Taqele Naiyaravoro for a trademark offload for the onrushing Ratuniyarawa.
Grayson converted again to make it 24-10, but Leicester responded after the restart. Ford landed a penalty after lock Alex Moon had been sin-binned for deliberately slapping the ball out of Leicester hands.
"Northampton's backs are going to start calling moves off Leicester's lineouts soon!"
Ruthless from @SaintsRugby!
They've pounced on another Tigers mistake and put the game to bed with some quality passing in the backline ? pic.twitter.com/AHC87dcPkM
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) November 30, 2019
But it did not ruin Northampton’s momentum and after Leicester’s lineout woes continued, Reinach sent a long pass out to Collins, who bagged his team’s bonus-point try.
Leicester were struggling to summon up any sort of response and there was still time for it to get worse as Dingwall, just on for Proctor, finished off another flowing move.
Grayson converted to make it 36-13 and Northampton continued to pile the pressure on until the final whistle, with Leicester left battered and bruised.
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments