Wayne's World visited Watford yesterday, with this tactical clash between the two coaches, All Black legends Shelford and Smith. And what was on show was entertaining enough in a slightly goofy way: a staccato match interrupted by poor handling, constantly punctuated by the referee's whistle and dominated by the boot of the Saracens fly-half Andy Goode with a tally of 26 points, and nine successful kicks out of 11.
Even with the internationals Abdel Benazzi, Thomas Castaignède and Kyran Bracken all relegated to the bench, Saracens had a sharper look to them against a Northampton side that offered them the match on a plate, thanks to endless handling errors.
The home side were off the mark within two minutes after Richard Hill latched onto Adryan Winnan's up and under just outside the Northampton 22 and fed the second-row Stuart Hooper. Goode duly converted, but Northampton fought back straight away through Paul Grayson.
With both teams infringing continually, the kicking boots of Grayson and Goode were always busy. If Goode had the best of the first half, with three penalties to Grayson's two, the Northampton fly-half managed a sweetly taken short-range drop goal, kicked on the turn, after James Brooks's pass landed behind him.
With the France prop Christian Califano injured, Saracens' tight five still have a lightweight look about them. Northampton had the better of the close-range exchanges. With lock Craig Yandell in the sin bin Saracens were fortunate to see a Tom Smith try disallowed seven minutes into in the second half, but they let the visitors back into the match five minutes later when Nick Beal broke through the cover, and Grayson converted to level the scores.
The kickers then took over. Goode edged Saracens ahead almost immediately with a towering drop goal and added a penalty, but as the third quarter began Grayson pulled Saints back into it. A quarter of an hour remained when Goode restored the six-point margin with a massive 57-metre kick, and he pulled them further ahead with a second drop goal five minutes from the whistle. If his 60-metre-plus effort in injury time looked like an attempt to run down the clock, his final kick, another 50-metre job, was the icing on the cake.
Saracens: Winnan; Johnston, Shanklin, Sorrell (capt), O'Mahony; Goode, Williams; Kershaw, Ross, Marsters, Hooper, Yandell (Benazzi 65), Peacey (Chesney 57), Roques (Parkes 70), Hill.
Try: Hooper. Con: Goode. Pens: Goode (6). Drop goals: Goode (2).
Northampton: Beal (Tucker 73); Ripol, Jorgensen (Sleightholme 59), Leslie, Cohen; Grayson, Brooks (Howard ht); Smith, Thompson (Richmond 76), Morris (Stewart 63), Phillips, Williams, Connors, Pountney (capt), Seely (Soden ht).
Try: Beal. Con: Grayson. Pen: Grayson (3). Drop goal: Grayson.
Referee: A Ireland (Scotland).
Attendance: 6,289
