Northampton see off Leicester in frenetic derby

The Prem

Northampton (17) 32

Tries: Smith, Todaro, Pearson, Belleau 2 Cons: Smith 2 Pen: Smith

Leicester (13) 26

Northampton Saints claimed the early season bragging rights with a see-saw 32-26 victory over local rivals Leicester Tigers at Cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

Bolstered by the return of Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell and centurion Tommy Freeman from their post-British and Irish Lions break, Saints took an early lead through Smith, before being pegged back by Freddie Steward’s effort.

Billy Searle’s kicking kept the visitors in touch, but tries from Edoardo Todaro, Tom Pearson and a brace from Anthony Belleau put the game beyond the visitors.

With Searle’s early penalty obscured by the pre-match pyrotechnics, the first real action observed by the packed stands was the departure of referee Luke Pearce, who, suffering from a cramping calf, was replaced by Alex Thomas.

When the action resumed, it was the home team who took the initiative.

Mitchell darted down the short-side from a scrum and kicked ahead. Adam Radwan looked on helplessly as the ball bounced back over his head and was recovered by the scrum-half, who fed Smith for Saints’ first points of the day.

That lead was not to last long, however.

Emeka Ilione burst through a hole in the Northampton line, but failed to pass before he was cut down by Saints defenders.

It proved not to matter, as Saints failed to number up appropriately in defence, allowing Steward to stride over untouched in the ensuing phase.

Before he was forced from the pitch, Freeman found himself in the thick of the action for the home side’s second try.

A well-executed set-piece move saw the winger combine with Tom Litchfield to charge into Leicester territory. Freeman was eventually tackled, but the ball was recycled with Todaro the beneficiary to touch down in the corner.

With the clock in the red, the Saints struck again.

Saints were looking for defensive stability as the second half began, having shipped 54 points after the break in their two games so far this season.

But those familiar defensive frailties appeared once again when Harry Wells powered over from short range after successive rolling mauls in the Saints 22.

Losing the lead seemed to inspired Saints though and their next score was a vintage Northampton try.

An end-to-end counterattack involving Fraser Dingwall and Rory Hutchinson saw multiple quick off-loads as Leicester’s defence reeled.

The talismanic Mitchell eventually laid hands on the ball, feeding Belleau to fight his way through three tacklers to score in the corner.

The lead changed for the eighth time following another Searle kick, before Dingwall had a score ruled out for an earlier knock-on.

Belleau then scored his second in spectacular style – kicking over the top and regathering to score, as Tigers’ defenders watched on in desperation.

Debutant James O’Connor’s penalty brought the visitors within six, but stout home defending denied them anything more than a losing bonus point.

Northampton: Hendy; Freeman, Hutchinson, Dingwall, Todaro; Smith, Mitchell; Iyogun, Smith, Davison, Lockett, Van Der Mescht, Coles, Pearson, Chick (c).

Replacements: Wright, Fischetti, Green, Kemeny, Pollock, McParland, Belleau, Litchfield.

Leicester: Steward; Radwan, Wand, Kata, Hassell-Collins; Searle, van Poortvliet; Smith, Blamire, Heyes, Wells, Chessum (c), Liebenberg, Reffell, Ilione.

Replacements: Clare, Haffar, Loman, Moro, Cracknell, Whiteley, O’Connor, Bailey.