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English Premiership leaders Northampton Saints welcome the only unbeaten team at Europe's top table in a mouthwatering Champions Cup clash at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday. - 23/10/2014 15:36
English Premiership leaders Northampton Saints welcome the only unbeaten team at Europe’s top table in a mouthwatering Champions Cup clash at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday.
The Pool Five rivals clashed in last season’s early rounds and it was the Saints who took the spoils. They scored a home 27-16 victory at the site of Saturday’s fixture before claiming a 29-17 triumph at the Liberty Stadium.
Those wins still were not enough for Jim Mallinder’s men to reach the knockout stages, as they dropped down into the Challenge Cup and conquered the competition. The Ospreys are the only side who still have a 100 per cent record intact after they claimed their seventh straight victory over Treviso.
Northampton’s 20-11 defeat to Racing Metro was only their second of the season, with Wasps the only other side to overcome the Premiership champions. Steve Tandy’s Ospreys already have the same amount of points, 5, as they did at the end of last season’s tournament and are hoping to spark their knockout bid with a victory over the Saints.
But Northampton are reeling from their round one loss to Racing Metro, where they let a losing bonus-pint slip from their grasp.
Saints centre Luther Burrell said: “We were very frustrated after last week’s game, fingers crossed we can regroup for the Ospreys. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but we know in key moments of the game we didn’t play as well as we could have.
“We are going up against a very good Ospreys side but it’s going to be good for us to get back home and hopefully put a marker down in front of our fans. At home we play a fantastic brand of rugby and with the crowd support we get it can be a real fortress for us.”
Ospreys Head Coach Steve Tandy said: “It's not in the Ospreys' nature to be daunted. We're excited. Of course we understand the task in front of us. Northampton are always challenging in England and we'll be severe underdogs going there, with the players they have, the finance and the support.
“But it's something that will be a great experience for our young players. Going up there and challenging against the best is where you want to be.”
George North was the four-try hero as the Wales wing sent Welsh flag bearers the Ospreys crashing to a 34-6 defeat at Franklin's Gardens with a belated bonus point win that re-ignited Northampton Saints' Pool 5 challenge in some style. - 25/10/2014 19:09
George North was the four-try hero as the Wales wing sent Welsh flag bearers the Ospreys crashing to a 34-6 defeat at Franklin’s Gardens with a belated bonus point win that re-ignited Northampton Saints’ Pool 5 challenge in some style.
His exceptional haul earned him the Heineken Man-of-the-Match award as well as equalling the club record of four in a match set by Paul Diggin against Edinburgh back in 2010/11.
In the process English Premiership leaders Northampton Saints inflicted a first defeat of the season in all tournaments on the Ospreys with North the destroyer in chief with the first hat-trick of this season’s competition before he clinched the priceless extra point with his fourth try in the 77th minute.
And the pain was nothing new for Alun Wyn Jones’ men, the Saints having taken the spoils last season with a home 27-16 victory before claiming a 29-17 triumph at the Liberty Stadium.
The three on the trot over the Ospreys was on the cards virtually from the off as they went about the business of easing the pain of their 20-11 defeat at Racing Metro 92 in Round 1.
The Saints drew first blood with outside half Steve Myler celebrating his call-up to the England squad with a fifth minute penalty goal.
Opposite number Dan Biggar then responded with the ball in hand to cut through the home defence but had to be content with three points from his boot when Northampton infringed in the shadow if their posts.
But Dylan Hartley’s men had the alarm bells ringing as they mounted a superb attack – which came to nothing when full back Ben Foden’s potential scoring pass to wing Ken Pisi went forward.
But home disappointment was short lived as the Saints struck through North for the first but far from last time courtesy of a perfectly weighted long pass from Myler – before a valiant effort by Christian Day went unrewarded with an earlier knock-on.
The TMO was again called into action after Hartley had thought he had got try No 2 and although that also was ruled out, it was relentless stuff from the home side.
Form half backs Rhys Webb and Biggar produced try saving tackles but there was no stopping North from crossing for his and Northampton’s second try, Pisi the provider as he shredded the Ospreys defence.
Myler added the extra points and after just over 30 minutes played it was virtually all Northampton.
Another Myler penalty opened up a 17-point advantage and Biggar was unable to cut into that lead as he saw his tricky penalty chance drift wide to the left of the posts.
Biggar, normally such a reliable source of points with his goal kicking, did land a second penalty when Saints were penalised by French referee Romain Poite for collapsing a scrum.
Those three points, however, were sandwiched by six points going begging when Hartley failed to release and then offside in front of the kicker also went unpunished.
Instead the punishment was all the Ospreys – North using his power to bulldoze his way over his try hat-trick after less than 55 minutes.
Myler was on target with the conversion but the real drama was North winning the chase from his own kick ahead for that record-equalling fourth try.
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