1
Seven-try Bristol crush inexperienced Northampton side
Bristol reclaimed second place in the Gallagher Premiership after swamping Northampton 47-10 at Ashton Gate. The play-off hopefuls made short work of an inexperienced Saints side, moving clear through tries in the opening 20 minutes by hooker Harry Thacker, wing Alapati Leiua and scrum-half Andy Uren.
ADVERTISEMENT
Captain Callum Sheedy converted all three touch downs, although Bristol did not score again to claim the Premiership bonus point until midway through the second half when flanker Chris Vui scored.
But that try opened the floodgates as Sheedy converted and also added the extras to scores from centre Piers O’Conor and flanker Ben Earl before wing Luke Morahan crossed as Bristol moved three points above Sale on the Premiership table, with Sharks hosting Saracens on Wednesday.
The game moved to uncontested scrums in the 55th minute after Saints lost starting loosehead prop Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and his replacement Nick Auterac through injuries, meaning they also went down to 14 men.
Substitute Josh Gillespie scored a try for Northampton, with James Grayson adding a conversion and penalty, but it was their fifth defeat from six Premiership games since the competition restarted last month.
Total rugby ??
It's far too easy for Bristol!
Rampant. pic.twitter.com/lEWlQ94jOf
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) September 8, 2020
Bristol centre Siale Piutau missed out due to suspension, so O’Conor switched from right-wing as his replacement and Morahan wore the No14 shirt. Northampton boss Chris Boyd, meanwhile, changed the entire starting line-up on duty against Exeter last time out, handing opportunities to the likes of 19-year-old full-back Tommy Freeman and scrum-half Tom James.
Bristol almost took a second-minute lead, but full-back Charles Piutau missed out by inches on a try following centre Semi Radradra’s cleverly placed kick. England head coach Eddie Jones and his assistants John Mitchell and Simon Amor looked on as both sides sought early supremacy, and Saints struck first when Grayson kicked a 35-metre penalty.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bristol were soon off and running, though, and they rocked Northampton by scoring two tries in five minutes. Thacker claimed the first, rounding off a driving maul, then Sheedy flicked possession on to an unmarked Leiua and he had a simple run-in following another attacking lineout.
Sheedy converted both tries, and much-changed Northampton were already up against it, trailing 14-3 after 15 minutes. It then got worse for Saints approaching the midway point of a one-sided half, with Earl making a searing midfield break before delivering a scoring pass to Uren.
It was all too easy as Sheedy’s conversion left Bristol one try short of a bonus point and Northampton wondering what they could do to stop their high-flying opponents. Thacker then wasted a gilt-edged chance by failing to pass when Radradra would have coasted over the line, but Saints were under relentless pressure as Bristol dominated in every department.
Northampton had to dig deep and they prevented Bristol from adding any further points before the break, yet trailed 21-3 at half-time. Saints spent the opening 15 minutes of the second-half camped inside Bristol’s 22, but they could not reduce the deficit and Bristol eventually moved away following a lengthy Sheedy touch-finder.
ADVERTISEMENT
The game moved to uncontested scrums due to Northampton’s front row injuries, yet Saints conjured a fine try for Premiership debutant Gillespie. Grayson converted to reward a dominant spell by the visitors, only for Bristol to finally release the shackles and set up Vui’s try that Sheedy converted from the touchline.
Bristol were now in top gear and Saints proved powerless to curb them as Earl and O’Conor added tries in rapid succession as they cut loose. Morahan then scored, completing a spell of four tries in nine minutes.
Northampton's form since their restart – five points from four matches – has seen them fall off the pace in the top four race
https://t.co/aJ2tSt4j3D— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 4, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Shame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
2 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
2 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to comments