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'Obviously it was a penalty try and a red card, but then we conceded 2 more'

By PA
Jacob Umaga is escorted off after a red card collision with Courtnall Skosan /PA

Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson was relieved to see his team belatedly come good after they snatched an extraordinary 40-36 win against Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership.

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Wasps appeared set to lift the mood around the CBS Arena, amid all the financial problems at the club, as a dominant performance at the breakdown played a big part in them holding a 36-28 lead going into the last three minutes.

However, Northampton, who had largely been second-best, produced an amazing turnaround as Alex Coles’ try gave them a foothold before Courtnall Skosan struck from the final play for the winning score.

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Dowson said: “It’s frustrating because it took us that long to start playing, really.

“We spent a lot of time in the first half in our own half, territory-wise, putting ourselves under pressure.

“I thought they played very well, they did exactly what we’d spoken about doing tactically, putting the ball in behind, working really hard to put us under pressure and create opportunities that way.

“I thought discipline was poor as well, but in the latter stages of the second half we finally found a bit of rhythm and managed to get going forward and move the ball into a bit of space, having created it, and looked after it.

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“The last few minutes were great, but there’s probably 60 or 70 minutes that weren’t.

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“We’re delighted with the relentless effort, but we also understand that we need to be better than that.”

Wasps led 18-11 at half-time thanks to tries by Jack Willis and Paolo Odogwu, with Coles giving Northampton hope before scores by Gabriel Oghre and Charlie Atkinson gave the hosts their bonus point.

Ollie Sleightholme struck for Saints before Wasps’ Jacob Umaga was sent off for a dangerous mid-air tackle on Skosan, who went on to have the final word.

Wasps head coach Lee Blackett said: “The work rate was outstanding, they put a lot of effort into it.

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“There’s a lot of guys having their first couple of games of the season as well out there, so there were loads of pleasing parts to it, if we could just have seen it through.

“That’s why we’re obviously gutted – you look at the last 12 minutes and conceding three tries once we went down to 14.

“Obviously it was a penalty try and a red card, but then we conceded two more during that period.

“When you look at off the field, I think everyone at first is really positive.

“I think it’s only natural that the longer it carries on, the more people will start to get worried.

“They’re playing some good rugby, the boys, at the moment – we could be sat here four from four and we’re sat here one from four.”

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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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