Northampton Saints player ratings vs Castres | Investec Champions Cup

Last season’s Investec Champions Cup semi-finalists Northampton Saints got their new campaign off to a perfect start with a 38-8 bonus-point win over Castres at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.

The visitors did not necessarily field a team that suggested they were going for the win, but torrid conditions threatened to turn the match into a dogfight.

In wind and rain that made kicking look comical at times, the Saints managed the game better, with charge downs playing their part.

The Saints head to South Africa next week to play the Bulls, where the weather may be slightly different.

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White on the weather conditions in London ahead of the Saracens clash

Storm Darragh is set to bring strong winds and heavy rain to London this weekend, but White believes he has a matchday squad that can adapt to all conditions.

Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White on the weather conditions in London ahead of the Saracens clash

Storm Darragh is set to bring strong winds and heavy rain to London this weekend, but White believes he has a matchday squad that can adapt to all conditions.

Here’s how the players rated:

15 James Ramm – 8.5
Not a nice day to be a full-back but he handled the high ball extraordinarily well and tidied up plenty of scrappy kicks.

14 Tommy Freeman – 7
Wasn’t called upon for any moments of magic, but chased kicks well all match.

13 Tom Litchfield – 8
Not always flashy carries, but consistently trucked the ball up in the midfield, and came away with the most metres carried in the match.

12 Fraser Dingwall – 7.5
Powered over for the opening try of the match. Solid throughout, distributing well.

11 Ollie Sleightholme – 6
Quiet, but this was hardly a match for wingers.

10 Fin Smith – 8.5
In his 50th Saints appearance, the England fly-half caused havoc in the Castres back field all afternoon with some probing kicks. His quick kick-off into the corner and subsequent charge down to his own kick chase led to the second try of the match. Had to alter his kicking game as a result of the conditions, but adapted very well. Looked like an openside at times closing down his opposite man in defence. Kicking off the tee wasn’t perfect, but no kicker would be in those conditions.

9 Alex Mitchell – 7
Appeared to be a player that had only played a handful of minutes this season. A knock on from a kick-off as well as losing the ball at the base of the ruck were some sloppy errors early on, but he tightened his game up. Not an afternoon for box kicks either, with some barely going forward.

1 Emmanuel Iyogun – 8.5
Monumental defensive shift with a match-leading 21 tackles when he came off after an hour. Seemed in competition with his fellow prop Elliot Millar Mills for tackles and carries, with both topping the tackle charts for the match.

2 Curtis Langdon – 8
Showed good footwork in the tight throughout the match, although his second-half try was about being the quickest to react to a loose ball. Charged down for Henry Pollock’s disallowed try, which summed up an all-action display. Lineout was not squeaky clean, but he can be forgiven for that considering the conditions.

3 Elliot Millar Mills – 9
Just the 20 tackles in an hour for the tighthead. To top off some immense defence, there were a couple of very nice turnovers, particularly one in his own 22. Perhaps shaded Iyogun due to his turnovers. The scrum was an even battle, as expected against a Top 14 pack, but he stood his ground for the most part.

4 Temo Mayanavanua – 7.5
Wonderful short line near a ruck for Saints’ second try of the match, which typified a display full of strong carries.

5 Tom Lockett – 7
Industrious defensive shift with 15 tackles and was the Saints go-to option at the lineout.

6 Angus Scott-Young – 7
In a back-row with plenty of firepower and excitement, Scott-Young did the quiet stuff. Showed his handling ability on a number of occasions as a link player, while also proving to be a handy lineout option.

7 Henry Pollock – 9
Whatever Pollock ate at half time paid off. After a first half where he was penalised a couple of times, he went up a gear in the second stanza. Latched onto the ball early in the second half to win a penalty, which the Saints quickly played for their third try, and added another turnover soon after when Castres were attacking. Additionally, his ball carrying was ferocious, capped off with a pinball-esque try late on.

8 Juarno Augustus – 9
Metres after contact were off the charts as the Castres defence struggled to slow him down. Rewarded with two tries, with the second showing just how hard he is to slow down. Had made the second-most metres in his side when he came off after an hour. Player of the match, but was pushed all the way by Pollock.

Replacements
16 Craig Wright -6
17 Tom West – 5
18 Luke Green -6
19 Chunya Munga – 7
20 Alex Coles -6
21 Iakopo Mapu – 7
22 Archie McParland – 7
23 Rory Hutchinson – 6