The start was all about testing out the opposition, and while the Saints looked more dominant, it was initially honours even with 3-3 after ten minutes. The next ten mminutes were a different story though. Slow ball from a ruck allowed the Saints to get themselves well set and as Chris Pilgrim tried to clear the line his kick was charged down by Tiny. It was a clean charge but it was enough and Dowse was able to gather it in. A couple of quick passes and the ball reached Tom May. Now, in all honesty, he should have passed it one more time, but this was his 200th premiership appearance and it was against his old team, so clearly he wanted to make it a bit memorable and he barged his way over the line to touch down his first try for the Saints and the first try of the match. It only took 7 more minutes for May to go over the whitewash again and he had bagged a pair.
The Saints were looking in control but to the supporters dismay Lawes was soon in trouble. Whether the ref thought it was a shoulder charge or a late tackle was not entirely clear but Lawes was seeing a yellow card while Manning rolled around on the ground in obvious agony. Well, it was obvious until Lawes sat on the naughty step, at which point Manning sprang up with no assistance from the physios, grinned at the crowd, and then got on with the game. This had the side effect of making the game appear like an early panto show as every time Manning touched the ball throughout the rest of the match then boo'ing could be heard around the stadium. The first couple of times the boo's were heartfelt but after that it became a comedy element that everyone got into and enjoyed. Gopperth managed to kick the penalty and then the Falcons tried to up the pressure. Despite some silly handling errors byt the Saints, the Falcons couldn't capitalise on their advantage in numbers and finally Gopperth had to go for a drop goal.
Half time and the score was 18-12 to the Saints. The reality was that the Saints had had the best of the match so far but Gopperth was keeping the Falcons within touch and greater discipline would be needed in the second half if the Saints were to make the most of their dominance.
It didn't take long. Within 4 mionutes of the second half the Falcons had a line-out at their 22. An overthrow saw the ball collected by the Saints and spun out to Lamby. He spotted a gap and dived through it, leaving enough numbers to his left for him to pass to Clarke who then passed to Vaseline. The Russian was over for the Saints third try of the match and continuing his impressive entrance into English rugby. And it became even more impressive 10 minutes later when he went over again in a similar move.
The scrum were now demolishing the Falcons who were repeatedly left a pile on the floor. And Flash was obviously feeling left out having watched others score tries. He was to round out the game with a brace for himself however, the first from short range and the second scopping up the ball in the Saints 22 after a Falcons handling error and running the length of the pitch for a Splash.
The Saints had put in another strong performance. A defence that never looked like being breached, a scrum that had territory, a line-out that was winning and pressurising the opposition, and a back line that was spinning the ball and finding the gaps. While positions in the table haven't changed that much, with the Saints at 8th, it looks more hopeful and the Saints seem to have remembered their winning ways.
Match Details
- Half Time 18-12
- Attendance 13,326
- Referee JP Doyle
- MOM Ryan Lamb
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