On the face of it Northampton are flying in the Champions Cup courtesy of two consecutive bonus points wins. The more pedantic-minded might also point out that both their opponents to date have fielded below-strength sides but when the qualifying sums are completed next month that will not be the top line statistic as far as the Saints’ management are concerned.
Because regardless of the depth of the resistance in front of them, Northampton are once again underlining their ability to pick apart sides who give them too much space and time. On this occasion they rattled up a total of eight tries, including a hat-trick for George Hendy, two for the fit-again Ollie Sleightholme and one for the roaming Henry Pollock who once again showed a glimpse or two of his rare talent.
One searing diagonal burst by the 20-year-old English back-rower, stopped only by a tap tackle within sight of the line, was the most obvious retort to the pre-match lip-smacking in South Africa at the prospect of him venturing down a dark alley or two populated by hard-nosed Afrikaaners unimpressed by his growing international reputation.
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Champions Cup roundup: Edinburgh suffer 33-0 defeat at Castres
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Toulon came out on top over Bath in an entertaining nine-try contest and took a 45-34 victory at the Stade Mayol. The result means all six teams in Pool Two have a win and a loss to their name after their first two matches but Bath’s bonus point means they top the table with six points, with the other sides on five.
Finn Russell slotted two penalties either side of Brian Alainu’uese’s try which gave Toulon a 7-6 lead. Mateo Garcia kicked three points for the hosts following a ruck infringement but Bath went ahead through Ted Hill with their first try of the game before Garcia knocked over his second penalty to make it 13-13.
Toulon went eight points to the good when Juan Ignacio Brex finished off after Kyle Sinckler’s powerful run, that was before Garcia kicked his third penalty of the game – but back came Bath again when Russell’s delayed pass allowed Santi Carreras to cross the whitewash.
Sinckler’s powerful run proved troublesome again in Toulon’s next try as Gael Drean picked a line to race clear and re-establish the French side’s eight point lead but Bath were not going away themselves, Arthur Green dotted down to bring the deficit back to one.
Toulon got their try bonus point through Lewis Ludlam but Max Ojomoh’s short pass let Louie Hennessey cut the gap to four points for Bath before another penalty and Teddy Baubigny’s try finished things off in the French side’s favour.
Edinburgh were brought back down to earth in the Champions Cup as they fell to a 33-0 defeat at Castres. The visitors claimed a stunning win over Toulon on their return to the competition last week but they were well beaten in France this time.
Christian Ambadiang’s 12th-minute try was the only score of the first half, but the lead extended to 12-0 six minutes into the second period when Loris Zarantonello crossed and Pierre Popelin converted. Tyler Ardron was the third Castres player to score a try as they stretched their advantage even further and Edinburgh’s cause was not helped when Piers O’Conor was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. Castres took full advantage, Adam Vargas securing the bonus point with the hosts’ fourth try when he crossed in the corner. The scoring was complete in the 63rd minute when Popelin sent over his fourth conversion following Vilimoni Botitu’s (pictured) try. PA Media
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With the increasing number of cameras trained on the modern game, that was never going to stray too far beyond the boundaries of decency and, not for the first time, Pollock had the last laugh on the scoreboard. As the Bulls’ head coach Johan Ackermann correctly observed prior to the game: “He gets under the skin of the opposition with his overconfidence, but the reality is that he backs it up when he plays.”
With player of the match Fin Smith, George Furbank, Rory Hutchinson and Alex Mitchell also playing slick supporting roles, the result was another of those one-sided spectacles that are now a feature of this tournament’s early stages. This should have been a delicious prospect for any rugby neutral: last year’s Champions Cup finalists against a team containing multiple Springboks. Instead, as is becoming a wearily familiar story in the pool stages, the reality was slightly more humdrum.
The visitors were missing half a team of Bok representatives with Handré Pollard, Canan Moodie, Wilco Louw and Willie le Roux, among others, all spared the East midlands in December. It remained a stronger Bulls side than some of those sighted in these parts in past seasons but a full-bore, eyeballs-out selection it was not.
It was not a massive surprise, then, when Saints took the early initiative, slick handling and a nicely timed pass from Pollock sending Sleighthome over in the left corner. The England winger has endured an injury disrupted year but is finally back doing what comes naturally.
In his own half, unfortunately, the 25-year-old was less sure-handed, dropping a costly ball in contact which was then hacked on for the pacy Stravino Jacobs to break away and score. Saints were suitably relieved when they did finally enjoy some sustained territorial advantage and created a mismatch out wide for Hendy to exploit.
At which point, under other circumstances, it would have been the signal for Ackermann’s army to circle the wagons and smash their way back into the contest through sheer physical will. The truth, sadly, is that the best South African players cannot play across both hemispheres all year round without the occasional break. And until that fiendish circle is even vaguely squared, their participation in northern hemisphere club tournaments will continue to create as many problems as it solves.
The format of the competition also has to take its share of the blame. Bulls have already lost to Bordeaux at home but a single bonus point win at home to Bristol next month followed by a losing bonus point in Pau may conceivably be enough to squeeze them into the last 16. On that basis why would middle-ranking sides necessarily bust a gut in the pool stages if they are not overly focused on securing home advantage in the knockout phase?
In this instance, certainly, the last quarter was a procession after Alu Tshakweni had been sent to the sin-bin for a retaliatory 53rd minute trip on Manny Iyogun. With a numerical advantage against flagging opposition the Saints duly made hay with the hard-running Sleightholme and Hendy, twice, benefiting from the efforts of those inside them. Rare is also the game in which Pollock does not play some part in the narrative but these were nothing like the raging Bulls this competition would ideally like.
