Northampton Saints v Scarlets: Five takeaways as ‘priceless’ winger and scrum ‘game-changer’ quell ‘excellent Welsh attitude’
Henry Pollock confronts the Scarlets on an afternoon when Edoardo Todaro, inset, was Northampton's standout player (INPHO/Cat Goryn)
Following a 43-28 victory for Northampton Saints over the Scarlets in their Investec Champions Cup fixture, here’s our five takeaways from the Pool 4 match at cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens.
The top line
Knowing from the day’s opening result in Bristol what they needed to do to finish runners-up to Bordeaux in the pool and secure home advantage in the Round of 16, Northampton got the job done, but it certainly wasn’t as straightforward as last year’s beaten finalists might have envisaged.
Old school Scarlets in Europe used to be a real drawcard, and the sudden return of Nigel Davies at the helm had an immediate impact as his team twice led in the first-half and then had the pluck to close to within five points late in the second.
There was a third-minute block down from Taine Plumtree on an Alex Mitchell clearance kick for Ryan Elias to score, and that was followed on 25 minutes by a sweeping attack that ended with Ellis Mee finding the scoring Archie Hughes with an incredible offload. The ambition was super to see.
The problem was that their scrum was way too vulnerable. Winger Edoardo Todaro got his first try on 17 minutes when the match was a 15-on-15 contest. However, his second and third tries before the interval came after Scarlets’ loosehead Kemsley Mathias had been carded for giving up too many set-piece penalties.
It meant that instead of the visitors having a 14-7 lead to take into the break, they trooped off 19-14 behind, and the margin increased on 51 minutes when Saints concocted a lovely running move from halfway that ended with Ollie Sleightholme scoring. Eight minutes later, sub Craig Wright got over from a driving maul, and the score was now 33-14.
To their credit, Scarlets demonstrated an excellent attitude, hitting back to bag a four-try bonus point through scores from Sam Costelow on 67 minutes and again five minutes later through Jac Davies.
From game over, it was now suddenly game on with the score at 33-28, and this spirited comeback left the Saints relying on a 76th-minute penalty from Anthony Belleau and a clock-in-the-red try from Callum Chick to eventually seal it.
Priceless Todaro
Rookie Italian winger Todaro has been one of the PREM Rugby best newcomers this season, and his figures after giving Scarlets the slip are nine tries in 11 PREM/Champions Cup appearances.
While his strike rate makes scoring sound very easy in a team that likes to attack out wide, the 19-year-old deserves high praise for the stubborn way he has rebounded from the two-match suspension he received for the 20-minute red card sustained against Bristol in late November.
Punished that day for getting his aerial coordination wrong, it could have understandably shaken his confidence and seen him go into his shell – but not a jot. There were two tries at the start of January in the league against Harlequins and now this, three versus the Scarlets.
What stood out were his handling and footwork. If his finish for the first from a Mitchell pass was sweet, he was even better when grabbing the ball from Tommy Freeman off the floor to dance his way over for the second, and he then showed great awareness to swap wings and take a pop from James Ramm for his third.
Three tries in 23 first-half minutes in a team that wasn’t at the top of its game. That was a priceless contribution.
The book of evidence
What was intriguing about this fixture was how Northampton would react to last weekend’s painful hammering at Bordeaux. A serious side simply can’t savour crumbs from a 50-28 defeat where too many players went missing in France when the pressure was at its most intense, and their initial response here had plenty of cause for concern.
Yes, they ran away with it for a time in the second half, moving out to 33-14 and then finding a 10-point late surge to head off Scarlets’ gutsy riposte. However, despite their six tries to four win, there were too many errors from a team that should have been on point after its catastrophe in Bordeaux.
Here is a sample book of evidence: The Mitchell block, which gave Scarlets their opening try, was followed by a try-costing fumble from Freeman to cancel a Ramm score, and plenty more knock-ons followed, including from Sleightholme and then Emmanuel Iyogun, the latter providing the Welsh side the scrum platform to go and score their second try.
Even after taking the lead, things weren’t perfect. For instance, there was another frustrating Freeman knock-on early in the second half before Saints eventually got their spluttering motor motoring for a short while.
What unfolded overall will generate some questions about Freeman and his England chances, particularly as the potent winger was occupying the outside centre role in this match. His soft handling errors in this position were not a good look for a player who is way better than he showed.
Mention of England and the Six Nations, which begins on February 7 at home to Wales, out-half Fin Smith was a no-show here for the second weekend running due to a calf strain. Director of rugby Phil Dowson explained pre-game, “Fin’s calf hasn’t recovered to the extent that we would be happy for him to play, so he stays out.”
What does this absence mean for England? We’ll know more when Steve Borthwick selects his squad in the days ahead.
Brittle Welsh scrum
Scarlets will head back over the Bridge, content that their pluck gave them a fleeting chance at winning this game late on, but they must take a forensic look at what went wrong in their first-half scrum as it ultimately cost them the match.
Up against potential England tighthead call-up Trevor Davison, visiting loosehead Kemsley Mathias lost his bearings, and the rate of penalties this led to resulted in French referee Kevin Bralley brandishing the yellow card on 36 minutes.
It was a game-changer. At the time, Saints were staring at the possibility of being seven points down at the interval. Instead, they headed into their break five points up as Todaro struck twice to take full benefit of the numerical advantage they were awarded.
Sub Alec Hepburn stayed on the field when the Mathias sin-binning elapsed early in the second half, but it was curious how the first scrum to take place with the match restored to a 15 versus 15 contest ended with another Northampton penalty.
It wasn’t all perfect for the Saints, though, in this department. Danilo Fischetti, Sunday’s 52nd-minute sub who was yellow-carded for repeat scrum infringements last weekend in Bordeaux, was left ruefully shaking his head when he was penalised on 56 minutes with all the replacement front-rowers now on.
That penalty, though, couldn’t repair the damage caused to the Scarlets by Mathias, providing fans with another sharp reminder that a brittle scrum can be a result killer.
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Back to the future
The trip to England was a case of back to the future for Scarlets with Davies back in charge. They were still a European team to be reckoned with when he was previously at the helm from 2008 to 2012, and there were some moments of encouragement here about what he might go on and achieve for the remainder of this season back in the United Rugby Championship.
He had spoken before kick-off about how his mission was to restore the Scarlets’ DNA, and the way they moved the ball at times was pleasing. It will surely give him confidence that he has made the right choice in returning after more than a decade out of the elite pro game.
“I believe in the Scarlets DNA; I believe in the way that we play and our culture. I believe in his group, and I must believe that I can make a difference as well,” he enthused. “It’s an exciting opportunity, and I am looking forward to it.”
Bottom of the URC after six defeats in eight matches and without a Champions Cup win in three outings, Davies was keen on ‘simplifying the messages’ to his players.
Given how they took an early lead and then boldly came close near the finish with a rousing flourish, it appeared that his method had made a quick impact – and that bodes well for what is to come, starting at home to Ulster next Saturday.