Lozowski the star as Saracens hold off Northampton
Alex Lozowski inspired Saracens to a 30-6 victory that cemented second place in the Gallagher Premiership as Northampton failed to capitalise on a dominant first-half.
Lozowski crossed in the 45th minute to land a decisive blow at Franklin’s Gardens and the former England centre also landed three penalties and three conversions, lifting his individual total to 20 points.
Until Lozowski’s injection of pace and sharp line propelled him over, Saints had pounded away at a resilient defence without reflecting their control on the scoreboard.
An interval scoreline of 6-6 was a poor return for all the time spent camped in the opposition 22 and sure enough it proved their undoing when Saracens found a new gear in the third quarter.
Late tries by Tom Woolstencroft and Maro Itoje distorted the result but Saints had appeared to run out of steam, their all-action style draining them of energy.
And there was more good news for the five-time champions as England hooker Jamie George made a successful comeback from a knee injury ahead of schedule as Eddie Jones plans for the Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 5.
Saints fans began streaming out long before the end, but the afternoon started brightly while signposting the wastefulness to come.
Just as Northampton were building a head of steam with Dan Biggar at the heart, a wonky line-out throw cost them a promising opening and shortly after number eight Juarno Augustus knocked on in the tackle from a similar position.
Saracens continued to defend furiously as driving rain failed to dent home ambition and when Rory Hutchinson sent Ollie Sleightholme through a well-worked gap the wing picked the wrong route, isolating himself from support.
To compound the error, Sleightholme absorbed a blow in the tackle that forced him to depart for an HIA and almost immediately on his return to the pitch he was the target of another heavy tackle.
Lozowski’s kicking nudged Saracens 6-3 ahead but Northampton were playing all the rugby as they lingered in the visiting half, boldly opting for scrums under the posts as Saracens infringed three times in a row.
The 14,734 crowd wanted Adam Leal to show a yellow card but instead the referee warned George as captain and on the next scrum Saints were penalised, dashing another opportunity.
Biggar finally opted for the posts to level the score but the home scrum continued to be a powerful option and as half-time approached Saracens came under renewed pressure.
It was against the run of play when Saracens crossed three minutes into the second-half as Alex Goode took the ball forward and then found Lozowksi, who hit the line at speed to sweep him through the defence and over the whitewash.
With the rain relenting, the conditions were better but a passage of scrappy play followed with neither side able to hang on to the ball, although the try had clearly given the visitors a lift.
Lozowski’s third penalty also supplied the next points and when replacement prop Conor Carey was sent to the sin-bin with 10 minutes to go, Saracens struck again through a forward drive finished by Woolstencroft.
It was a carbon copy for Itoje’s try that wrapped up the afternoon at Franklin’s Gardens.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments