Northampton Saints player ratings: Henry Pollock ‘targeted’ by Saracens as Lions bolter suffers first ‘setback’ but bench comes to the rescue
Henry Pollock in action against Saracens and Tarek Haffar celebrating the winning try in Premiership clash.
Following a last-gasp 28-24 victory over Saracens in the Premiership clash at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Northampton Saints.
15 James Ramm: One of those to go off in what proved to be an injury nightmare for the Saints just before the Champions Cup final. There were a few decent carries before that, but they will sweat on his lower leg issue. 5
14 Tommy Freeman: Very quiet early on before the in-form wing managed to get some involvements, although his impact was limited. Freeman was excellent later on, though, and really showed his class in the comeback. 7
13 Fraser Dingwall (c): Like most of his team-mates, the skipper had a bad first 45 minutes, but some deft touches afterwards helped get them on the front foot. 6
12 Rory Hutchinson: A couple of nice touches early on, but Hutchinson struggled to breach a sturdy Saracens defence. However, Hutchinson moved to fly-half and was much better. 6
Saints’ best back
11 Tom Litchfield: Northampton’s best starting back as the abrasive wing carried hard all day and made a few dents. Centre is probably his best position, but Litchfield continues to do a good job out wide. 7
10 Fin Smith: The England star’s grubber through for Josh Kemeny’s score was the only real highlight from his performance as he was taken off to be protected for next week. 5
9 Alex Mitchell: Sarries made a mess of the Saints’ breakdown all day and, as a result, Mitchell struggled to cope. The visitors did an excellent job of slowing down the hosts’ ball and stopping the England scrum-half from being a threat. 5
8 Henry Pollock: The youngster’s first real setback in his brief career so far as he struggled to get into the game. Saracens clearly targeted him, and a big hit from Tom Willis and Ben Earl early on gave the visitors energy. 5
7 Josh Kemeny: Outstanding once again from the flanker, who was one of the few Saints to step up when they were struggling. A tireless display. 8
Injury concerns
6 Alex Coles: We hope his injury is not too bad as Coles, like Kemeny, led the comeback. Despite missing a try-scoring chance when dropping the ball over the line, the back five forward was excellent before hobbling off late on. 8
5 Tom Lockett: Solid in the set-piece but physically failed to get on top of his opposition pack. Lockett is a fine talent and toiled away, but it was not his day. 5
4 Temo Mayanavanua: Made a few decent carries but the Sarries starters got the better of that Northampton lock pairing. 5
3 Trevor Davison: An underrated tighthead, who has been one of the Saints’ best signings, but he had a bit of a shocker on Saturday. Singled out by Luke Pearce for the scrum issues and dropped the ball at a key time. 4
2 Curtis Langdon: Another Saints star to get injured by taking a stinger to the shoulder. Hopefully, Langdon will be fine for the Champions Cup final but it is only a week away. 5
1 Emmanuel Iyogun: Busy in the loose but there were problems at the scrum for the Saints, who failed to get on top in too many facets in the opening 50 minutes. 5
Replacements: It didn’t look the strongest bench on paper but they certainly made their presence felt. Tarek Haffar was one of the more experienced names to come on and he scored a brace, including the winning try, but the likes of Jake Garside and Jonny Weimann added real energy in the second period. 9
