'That is the reason why the bench looks like that' - Phil Dowson shocked by comeback
Northampton rugby director Phil Dowson struggled to sum up a remarkable Gallagher Premiership encounter against Exeter after his team fought back to win 42-36 at Sandy Park.
Saints returned to the Premiership summit in breathtaking fashion as centre Rory Hutchinson’s try with the clock in the red secured an unlikely win.
They trailed 26-0 after just 23 minutes, but a spectacular recovery that included three tries for wing Ollie Sleightholme took Saints above Harlequins and top of the table.
“It was not the way we planned it!” Dowson said. “I am not sure if I am able to sum it up. We spoke during the week about how good they (Exeter) are straight out of the blocks, especially at home.
“They score more tries in the first 10 minutes than anyone else. We talked about starting fast – we didn’t – and 26-0 down was as poor as we have been.
“But those two tries we scored just before the break really gave us at least equilibrium to sort of regroup at half-time and get to a point where we could get back into the game.
“Had it been 26-0 at half-time you are talking about a mountain to climb, whereas 26-14 at least you are saying ‘we’ve hurt them and you can create some belief around it’.”
Key to Saints’ transformation were strong second-half appearances off the bench by England pair Alex Mitchell and Tommy Freeman.
“The bench did make a difference. It’s great to have the likes of Alex Mitchell, Tom Pearson, Tommy Freeman, Curtis Langdon coming off the bench to add impact,” Dowson added.
“You go from Europe to the Premiership and it’s non-stop, week to week. There is not one player who is going to play every minute of every game, so we have to make sure we trust the squad and give guys their opportunity.
“That is the reason why the bench looks like that. They have quality and energy, and that is how we get the results like that.
“The start wasn’t great, but you could see as the game went on how much we grew into things, and we got our result at the end.”
Saints’ victory made it seven games unbeaten and ended Exeter’s run of 23 home matches without defeat in all competitions.
There were also tries for skipper George Furbank and scrum-half Callum Braley, with Fin Smith kicking six conversions in a bonus-point triumph.
Chiefs were rampant early on as flanker Jacques Vermeulen touched down twice, and there were also scores from scrum-half Stu Townsend, wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and replacement Rusi Tuima, with Henry Slade booting four conversions and a penalty.
But despite defeat, Exeter rugby director Rob Baxter reacted in upbeat fashion after what was an all-time Premiership classic.
Baxter said: “We know Northampton are a good side, we knew it would be a tough challenge and I’ve just said to the lads I couldn’t be prouder of them than I am now.
“Over the 80 minutes, did we do some good things? Yes, we did. I am not going to criticise the players, because we couldn’t have turned up any better than we did.
“It was an incredible game of Premiership rugby, and I am far from overwhelmed by today’s result or feeling too disappointed by it.
“We lost momentum in the game and it could have gone completely away from us, but we refused to let that happen.
“We are in the top four in the Premiership, and it is a really exciting time for us to be in the thick of it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
41 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
2 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
41 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
41 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to comments