Saints boss Dowson reacts to controversial Care incident
Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson admitted his frustration at his side’s failure to capitalise on three Harlequins yellow cards as they fell to a 41-32 defeat at Twickenham.
Danny Care, Louis Lynagh and Tyrone Green were all sent to the sin-bin, with Care fortunate to escape a red card, having already seen yellow when he appeared to come off his feet at the breakdown to kill the ball. Referee Karl Dickson opted to award only a penalty.
Luke Northmore and Will Porter both scored two tries and Stephan Lewies and Caden Murley also crossed as Quins claimed victory in the Big Summer Kick-Off.
Northampton’s tries came through Ollie Sleightholme, James Ramm, Tom Litchfield and Courtney Lawes, whose score salvaged a bonus point.
Dowson said: “Clearly I would have liked to have conceded fewer points. That’s frustrating and disappointing.
“I said before the game about how dangerous Quins are and we didn’t manage to contain them.”
On the Care incident, he said: “There was a lot going on in that break of play. Karl and the TMO have had a good look at (it) and they’ve deemed that Care pushing James Ramm and diving on the ball wasn’t a yellow-card offence.
“They had a lot of yellow cards and we didn’t capitalise and that was fundamentally the difference. When we did get opportunities, there’s three or four times we’re on their line and we either dropped the ball or didn’t convert.
“So we left points out there, we didn’t convert chances, particularly in the first half, and when they had chances, they were very, very clinical. There will be a lot to take from it.”
Danny Wilson was pleased to see his Quins side come out and attack.
He said: “We’re going to come out and entertain and we know in this competition and others bonus points are important. We’ve got to score four tries week in, week out, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do.
“It’s their DNA, it’s the club’s DNA, it’s what it’s been built on and long may it continue.
“It’s so tight it’s mad. Every game feels like knockout rugby, so you’ve got to go and score four tries and get bonus points to give yourselves a chance.
“We’ve done what we needed to do in front of a big crowd here, which is an amazing experience.”
He added: “We said at half-time we should be further ahead on the scoreboard if it wasn’t for the yellow cards, which is what gave them a foot up in the game.
“They were all one-off yellow cards that we shouldn’t be giving away.
“We had some really good defensive sets in our own 22, our collisions were way better than what they’ve been.
“We probably got a bit soft a couple of times on edges and, if you give Northampton an edge, they’re going to score from that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Haha he does the exact opposite of what you’d expect any receiver to do, Brilliant!
2 Go to commentswell the favourites dont always win and let scott robertson chose his number 8
3 Go to commentsthats great for cam miller and the highlanders the crusaders have got problems within there systems that were proberly covered up astheywere winning when scott robertson was in charge
2 Go to commentsThe last time Plumtree coached the sharks they sucked the same when with the hurricanes now back with the shark Springboro. They still have no game plan
1 Go to commentsan impressive nail biting win for the Blues...but for mine the losing of the game sits with Isaia Walker-Leawere who fumbled balls from kick offs, broken play and then stripped of the ball by Sam Nock in the final minute…
3 Go to commentsAll of the Moderna law changes have been to slow the game down, playing into the hands of SA and the north. Incentivising boring, negative rugby. Brilliant changes. Speed up the game.
11 Go to commentsImagine you kick to the lineout, they give away a free kick, you have a great chance at a scrum, sorry sir you have to tap and go. Ridiculous
11 Go to commentsWhile I believe that the Crusaders do not deserve a spot in the playoffs, every single team would be worried to play them no matter where on the table they are. For example, they have the potential to knock out the Blues at Eden Park. They are the Springboks in Super Rugby in that they know exactly how to play knockout footy and have the pedigree and experience to do it. Something is just not quite right with that team this year. Fakatava is prone to to the odd brain explosion and can kick away good ball in bad positions. His work around the ruck and breakdown is a standout. Is he better than Finlay Christie? I’m not sure. TJ Perenara and Cortez Ratima should get two of the spots in the ABs squad. Aumua has so much potential but the midfield is quite well stocked with Jordie, ALB, Tupaea, and Ioane as well as Billy Proctor who is in top form. Aumua would be battling a spot with Tupaea and Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy do some Bok fans get so defensive when people have opinions on how the game should be played? Is it really necessary to take it as a personal attack on SA every time?
11 Go to commentsMost crazy rule is when attacking player has to release but defender does not. Stop the defender doing that by saying hands off. That way fender would not kill the ball. Madness and crazy
80 Go to commentsMinicamp rules include no-pads and no tackling.
2 Go to commentsToulouse has enough quality players so no headaches 😁 Choco is rarely a starting centre. Throughout this championship there have been far worse actions that were never called… too many rules, too many rule changes, too many inconsistencies, too many angry fans. I'm not surprised rugby does not attract new spectators, how could they understand 🤣
6 Go to commentsAh yes Andy with his “Goode” views. Oke might as well come out and say it, “I like seeing South African scrums depowered in order to give the rest of the world a chance”. Somehow he thinks World Rugby always knew about calling scrums from marks and it just so happened to coincide with Damien Willemse’s call that they decided to change the rules. Ah come on, if he can't see it then he needs prescription glasses. No ways, they are doing this for the betterment of Rugby. They want to clamp down on Rassie’s innovative skills than encouraging coaches to think outside of the box to try new things. What they can't count on is what Rassie will plan next. I almost get the impression that once Rassie retires World Rugby is going to be scrabbling around trying to find their identity. Currently set at ARP (Anti-Rassie Party). Although I don't really care in that regard because they always a RWC step behind.
11 Go to commentsWow ten years since they had a backing and more from the paying public I’d also mention that as a blues man and in walking distance to the garden I’d say that this team and Vern Cotter have got us dreaming beautiful thoughts and the merit is there from numbers 1 to 23 but we would like to think this is the new dna for the ABs and a pack weighing 940kg dry y not I hasten to add it seems patty has to stay fit cause he is the driver the main driver and they follow plus the pipe man H Plummer is conducting his own orchestra ….. Beethoven anybody
1 Go to commentsJuicy stuff well covered I’d go as far as to say that the referee was a key component in keeping it a tasty spectacle
3 Go to commentsCotter has added that steel that has been missing. Let's see if it will carry until the Finals… Come on the Blues ….
2 Go to commentsAndy Goode just loves to be controversial. Its boring. Let’s all stop reading.
11 Go to commentsYou have got to consider that if the situation was flipped and the French were held to a salary cap with no English equivalent, the English would laugh in their faces and tell them to get over it. As for Leinster (as a fan), the central contract system is a dream but is guilty of cutting out the other 3 provinces. At the end of the day, it comes across outside of the English border that the Premiership is drowning and trying to take everyone else with it rather than adapt. The English lose, the English want new rules. We've seen this repeat (and once it even led to the current Champions Cup) You make many good and informed points, but if the flip was on the other flop, it wouldn't be Rugby’s problem I suspect - it would be a French one.
18 Go to commentsSeems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
1 Go to commentsBobby has been a first grade bonehead since high school. Like a true Cape Tonian, his own reflection is more important than anything else.
1 Go to comments