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‘Embarrassing Bristol defeat not a great look for the Prem’Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Northampton scored 14 tries against Bristol on FridayByChris Jones
When do lots of tries become too many tries?
There was so much to enjoy in Northampton’s play in the record 94-33 demolition of Bristol on Friday evening, but this was an embarrassing result for the Bears and not a great look for the league.
Attack is king in the game at the moment – whether because of laws, coaching, officiating or conditions, or a combination of all of the above.
Even in international rugby, where matches are traditionally tighter and cagier, tries have been scored by the bucketload, with France’s final two Six Nations matches high-scoring thrillers which would have captivated supporters both casual and hardcore.
But points for the sake of it misses the, well, point. Tries are great, but the beauty of rugby union is the balance of all the various facets of the game, defence included.
Many neutral fans – if not most – would prefer a low-scoring contest where the result is in the balance, over a high-scoring blowout where the outcome is settled after 30 minutes – as was the case at the Gardens.
What was even more peculiar about Bristol’s capitulation was how much they had riding on the game. This was not something that can be explained by a lack of promotion and relegation.
Bottom-placed Newcastle, meanwhile, have now shipped 764 points in their 16 matches, an average of just short of 50 points a game.
Next season cannot come soon enough for the Red Bulls, while the Bears simply must win against bitter rivals Bath next round to stay in the play-off hunt.
Given the number of one-sided thrashings across the league this season, Harlequins supporters would have feared the worst when the classy Wallaby Len Ikitau crashed over for Exeter just after the half-hour mark to extend their lead to 24-7.
Play-off chasing Chiefs had the try bonus point in the bag and the full five match points seemed a formality, especially given Quins’ morale-sapping campaign.
But, inspired by more than 35,000 loyal supporters at Allianz Stadium, Quins launched a remarkable comeback, bagging 34 unanswered points to bring the feel-good factor back to TW1 and right some of the wrongs from their meek Big Game defeat at Christmas.
At the heart of the Quins rearguard were captain Alex Dombrandt, whose form has merited a call-up back into the England squad, and fly-half Marcus Smith, who steered his side maturely in the second half.
Quins head coach Jason Gilmour revealed afterwards that Smith had been the driving force behind a half-time strategic shift which saw them kick longer for territory, with Gilmour praising Smith’s ability to dictate the gameplan and change tactical course.
Game management has not always been the strongest part of Smith’s game – it is where George Ford and Fin Smith have had the edge over him when it comes to wearing the England number 10 shirt – but the nature of his performance would not have gone unnoticed by Steve Borthwick.
Image source, Getty ImagesOwen Farrell returned to Saracens last summer after a season with Racing 92
Another English fly-half, Owen Farrell, has been used to taking on responsibility all throughout his stellar career, whether in the form of captaincy, goal-kicking or organising his side in defence and attack.
But throwing in to the lineout was a new challenge even for England’s record points scorer.
After Henry Pollock’s efforts were roundly mocked by the Welford Road crowd last weekend, Farrell fared much better at the StoneX Stadium against Gloucester, with one of his pinpoint throws drawing a coo of approval from former England forward David Flatman in TV commentary.
Farrell’s throwing brought some levity to the proceedings on Saturday but, make no mistake, Sarries mean business in this run-in and have now won four in a row to move within three points of Exeter with two to play.
In the bowels of Twickenham on Saturday, Chiefs boss Rob Baxter grinned when asked about the inevitability of a winner-takes-fourth showdown at Sandy Park against their old enemies on the final day.
“I could have mentioned this three or four weeks ago,” he mentioned ruefully.
“It almost looks we are trying to make it about the last game.”
Meanwhile, Leicester backed up their brilliant East Midlands derby victory with an equally important win at Sale to keep the Tigers within one point of second-placed Bath, whom they meet on the final day at the Rec.
That game could have huge repercussions for the destiny of the title.
However, Sale have lost five times in the league at the CorpAcq Stadium this campaign, their worst run at home since the relegation battle of 2012-13.
Whatever happened to the Sharks’ home fortress? Rebuilding that will be a major priority if they are to compete again next season.
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