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Forgotten England contingent inspire Harlequins to victory over Northampton

By PA
Chris Ashton dives over for a try (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Harlequins’ discarded England contingent took centre stage at The Stoop by inspiring a 30-17 Gallagher Premiership victory that prolongs Northampton’s post-lockdown troubles.

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A bonus-point win that keeps Paul Gustard’s team on the fringes of play-off contention was inspired by Mike Brown, the nation’s most capped full-back, whose quick thinking created tries for Nathan Earle and Chris Ashton.

Ashton finished a move that started when Brown schemed his way out of a defensive line-out inside Quins’ 22 and moments earlier Saints had been nudged closer to the precipice by a try from another England veteran in flanker Chris Robshaw.

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The club’s seasoned campaigners, a group that also included scrum-half Danny Care, bossed youthful opposition as Northampton slumped to a third defeat in four outings since the five-month break for COVID-19.

While none of the out-of-favour England stars will have forced a rethink from Eddie Jones, who was watching from the stands, Marcus Smith gave the Australian a nudge with a classy display at fly-half alongside a strong afternoon from number eight Alex Dombrandt.

Quins were dominant for most of the afternoon, but they looked brittle early on when their midfield parted far too easily as Rory Hutchinson galloped over for the opening try.

Matt Proctor made the key break and Hutchinson drifted wide to take the scoring pass from his outside centre with the line he picked giving the cover defence little chance behind closed doors at The Stoop.

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It then became Saints’ turn to switch off, but only after wing Ryan Olowofela had used his strength and a side-step to seemingly run his team out of trouble until he ruined his good work by conceding a penalty.

Instead of taking an easy three points, Quins reacted quickly through an alert Brown who combined brilliantly with a rampaging Dombrandt before floating the ball to Earle for a routine finish.

Successive line-outs by Saints saw the pendulum swing again, however, with a series of forward drives infield sucking in defenders until James Grayson drilled a long, flat pass for Olowofela to touch down.

But it was Quins who entered half-time 18-14 ahead after a well-executed line-out drive was finished by Scott Baldwin and Smith added his second penalty.

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And with half an hour still to play, they had moved out of sight as Robshaw helped himself to an easy try after repeated phases of build-up and Ashton finished a superb move.

Ashton’s try was born out of Brown’s ingenuity as the England full-back shaped to kick before charging downfield where Dombrandt arrived to continue the move and offer Quins’ right wing sight of the line.

Grayson added a penalty for Saints, but there was no way back despite a sustained final surge that was repelled by determined opposition.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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