Northampton player ratings: Henry Pollock brilliant before ‘terrible decision’ while Saints backline rips Bath apart
Henry Pollock and Fraser Dingwall in action for Northampton Saints against Bath.
Following an agonising 43-41 defeat to Bath in the Investec Champions Cup clash at the Rec on Friday, here are the player ratings for Northampton Saints.
15 George Furbank (c): Decent under the high ball and counter-attacked well. Wasn’t necessarily the one doing the creating with ball in hand but Furbank still had his moments. 6
14 Tommy Freeman: Set the tone for an incredible attacking performance in the first half by taking the kick-off. Scored a hat-trick in their previous meeting at the Rec and enjoyed another successful game here, despite not crossing the whitewash. 8
13 Rory Hutchinson: Some lovely touches in attack, including playing a key role in Josh Kemeny’s try, but Bath did find joy through his channel. He took the bait for Henry Arundell’s score, though. 7
The Saints’ glue
12 Fraser Dingwall: Has responded well to being dropped by England and Dingwall had a fine game at the Rec. Some superb moments with ball in hand and was rewarded with a try following Freeman’s assist. 8
11 Ollie Sleightholme: Finished his try brilliantly, albeit Cam Redpath won’t be happy with his defensive effort, but was generally quieter than his wing team-mate. 7
10 Fin Smith: Directed the attack beautifully with his timing of the pass absolutely exquisite. It was another classy performance from the young England fly-half, who would have impressed Steve Borthwick once again, but he could not wrestle back the momentum after the break. 8
9 Archie McParland: The earlier encounter between these teams was McParland’s breakthrough match. He has gone from strength to strength since then and showed his development by starring for a second time at the Rec. The scrum-half’s one-handed pass under pressure for the Saints’ second try was delightful. May regret taking a quick-tap penalty in the second period when the game was getting tighter, but he will learn from it. 8
Unlucky with the yellow
8 Henry Pollock: A typically energetic display from the much talked about back-rower. Crossed the whitewash early on with a superb finish and was in the thick of the action throughout. Lost a couple of individual duels against Alfie Barbeary but also won turnovers and was often first to the ruck – an underrated part of Pollock’s game. Was very unlucky with the late yellow card after a pretty terrible decision from Andrew Brace. 8
7 Tom Pearson: A real physical presence around the fringes and Northampton certainly missed his influence when he went off in the first half. Perhaps an understated 26 minutes but his absence was felt with Bath managing to get more joy at close quarters when he went off. 7
6 Josh Kemeny: Has been a fantastic signing for the Saints and he was in good form yet again here. Showed his athleticism to touch down for their fourth try. 7
5 JJ van der Mescht: A big unit who has been effective in Northampton’s starter plays and did that job well enough against Bath, but they probably would have wanted slightly more from the lock. 6
Massive shift
4 Tom Lockett: A big shift in the engine room. Got penalised a couple of times, which ultimately led to Van der Mescht’s yellow card, but ended significantly in credit with some outstanding work on both sides of the ball. 8
3 Cleopas Kundiona: Making just his third start for Northampton, the tighthead was solid in the set-piece, with the scrum not a huge factor in the contest, and had good work ethic around the field. 6
2 Curtis Langdon: The hooker had to go off early which is such a shame. Langdon has endured his injury troubles and looks set for another spell on the sidelines. N/A
1 Danilo Fischetti: Similar to his front-row partner, Fischetti held up the scrum but the Italian also did some brilliant work in the loose. 7
Replacements: Craig Wright was industrious and Callum Chick also put in a mammoth shift, but ultimately it was the Bath bench that altered the course of this contest. Northampton simply could not match the hosts’ physicality in the second period, even if the majority of the replacements were not poor. 6
