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 have fielded below-strength sides, but when the qualifying sums are completed next month that will not be the top line as far as the Saints’ management are concerned.
Because regardless of the depth of the resistance they are facing, Northampton are again underlining their ability to pick apart sides who give them too much space and time. On this occasion they rattled up eight tries, including a hat-trick for George Hendy, two for the fit-again Ollie Sleightholme and one for the roaming Henry Pollock, who showed a further glimpse or two of his rare talent.
One searing diagonal burst by the 20-year-old England 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 populated by hard-nosed Afrikaaners unimpressed by his growing international reputation.
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.
In the other Pool 2 match, 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.
Bristol ran riot with nine tries as they thrashed Pau 61-12 at Ashton Gate in Pool 4. Eight different try scorers got in on the act as Bristol made it two wins from two and scored all 61 of their points – as Tom Jordan kicked eight successful conversions – within the opening hour to claim a dominant win. The England prop Ellis Genge powered over from close range open a destructive afternoon of scoring and Fitz Harding slipped the ball to Benjamin Grondona in a two-on-one situation to go under the posts for their second try. Things were threatening to get a bit ugly for the French visitors when Bristol ran in three more tries before the break courtesy of Kieran Marmion, Kalaveti Ravouvou and Gabriel Oghre’s score at the back of the maul on the stroke of half-time. There were no signs of letting up in the second period either, Benhard Janse van Rensburg crossed over four minutes into the half before Joe Batley made it 47-0. Pau got on the scoresheet through Fabien Brau-Boirie’s try under the posts but Aidan Boshoff and Grondona – who crossed over for his brace – extended the hosts’ score, while Brau-Boirie’s second try was nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
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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 beforehand: “He gets under the skin of the opposition with his overconfidence, but the reality is that he backs it up when he plays.”
With Fin Smith, the player of the match, George Furbank – increasingly strongly linked with a summer move to Harlequins – 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.
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. 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 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 wing 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 some occasional respite. 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, regardless of the format.
Teams and scorers
Northampton Furbank (capt); Sleightholme, Hutchinson, Dingwall (Thame 53), Hendy; F Smith, Mitchell (James 60) Fischetti (Iyogun 49), Wright (R Smith 49), Davison (Kundiona 49), Coles (Munga 60), Van der Mescht (Prowse 61), Kemeny, Pearson (Graham 69), Pollock. Tries Sleightholme 2, Hendy 3, Pollock, Coles, Kemeny. Con F Smith 5.
Bulls Williams; Petersen, Gans, Vorster (Van Niekirk 61), Jacobs; Wolhuter (Johannes 66), Burger (Papier 11); Tshakweni (Louw 63), Van der Merwe (Else 67), C Smith (Mchunu 54), Wiese, Van Heerden, Coetzee (capt; Carr 40) Ludwig, Louw (Sithole 55, Gumede 66). Try Jacobs.
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 focus 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 kick at 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.
“We knew when we saw the Saints team that it was going to be tough because of the quality they possess,” said Ackermann, whose side lost at home to Bordeaux in the opening round. “It was just disappointing that we collapsed in the second half.”
His Saints counterpart, Phil Dowson, whose side head out to France to face the holders, Bordeaux, next month, also admitted the club were realistic about the difficulty of retaining experienced players like Furbank in addition to their rich crop of young English talent. “We’re trying to work hard to keep George … but we respect the decision the player makes,” said Dowson, who has previously lost both Lewis Ludlam and David Ribbans to French clubs for salary cap-related reasons.
“Obviously it would be a bitter pill if George bloody Furbank drops a goal from halfway in a semi-final, for example. If that eventuality happens and he ends up at an English club we’ll obviously track his career and keep in touch but I don’t think we can be bitter about that.”
