Saints too strong for Harlequins
PREMIERSHIP FRIDAY WRAP: Early Premiership pacesetters Northampton Saints blew Harlequins away to secure a third win in as many league matches.
In Friday's other game, Bristol Bears secured a hard-fought win over Sale Sharks.
We take a closer look at each match!
Northampton Saints 40-22 Harlequins
Taqele Naiyaravoro scored twice during a dominant first-half display in which Northampton earned a bonus point, with Teimana Harrison and Mike Haywood also dotting down.
Harlequins responded with a try either side of half-time, through Cadan Murley and Chris Robshaw, but Saints hit back and Harrison notched his second try before the end.
Murley did also complete his double before full-time, but it was nowhere near enough as Quins suffered a 40-22 defeat.
Harlequins head of rugby Paul Gustard said: "The first three minutes were outstanding. They gave away penalty after penalty and unfortunately the reward was only three points not seven.
"It was one guy (Naiyaravoro) who caused the problems with his physicality on the sides.
"We pride ourselves on our intensity and urgency in defence and we lacked that in the first 20 or 30 minutes."
Northampton forwards coach Phil Dowson said: "The first 38 minutes were excellent but we conceded just before half-time and for the rest of the game we were battling.
"We were under a huge amount of pressure for most of the second half, which was disappointing because we were so good in the first half.
"To put an 80-minute performance together is the goal and the dream, but we have to keep battling away to eradicate some of those mistakes we made in the second half because further down the line and in different competitions and against different opposition, we'll get punished."
The scorers:
For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Naiyaravoro 2, Harrison 2, Haywood
Cons: Grayson 3
Pens: Grayson 2
DG: Grayson
For Harlequins:
Tries: Murley 2, Robshaw
Cons: Herron 2
Pen: Smith
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 George Furbank, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Andrew Symons, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 James Grayson, 9 Henry Taylor, 8 Teimana Harrison (captain), 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Alex Moon, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Alex Coles, 21 Connor Tupai, 22 Fraser Dingwall, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Harlequins: 15 Aaron Morris, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 James Chisholm, 5 Matt Symons, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Mark Lambert
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Will Collier, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Renaldo Bothma, 21 Charlie Mulchrone, 22 Brett Herron, 23 Michele Campagnaro
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant Referees: Jack Makepeace & Paul Dix
TMO: Sean Davey
Bristol Bears 16-10 Sale Sharks
Ioan Lloyd’s maiden Premiership Rugby try saw Bristol Bears earn a doughty 16-10 win over Sale Sharks.
Pat Lam’s side extended their unbeaten run at Ashton Gate to six games, Sheedy punishing Sale’s indiscipline with a trio of three-pointers and replacement Lloyd touching down to seal the spoils.
Sale were free-flowing in their 41-7 win over London Irish in Round Two and couldn’t build on that victory despite Cameron Neild dotting down late on.
The visitors were pinged twice in five minutes for offside in the first half and Sheedy made them pay from the tee, despite missing his first shot at goal in the 12th minute.
Chris Vui was sin-binned with ten minutes to play and late drama ensured. Lloyd dragged Marland Yarde into touch with a crucial tackle and then went up the other end to score.
Bristol threw an interception and Neild took advantage to leave Sale within a score on the final play, but the hosts held on for their second win of the season.
The scorers:
For Bristol Bears:
Try: Lloyd
Con: Sheedy
Pens: Sheedy 3
For Sale Sharks:
Try: Neild
Con: MacGinty
Pen: MacGinty
Yellow card: Chris Vui (Bristol Bears, 69)
Teams:
Bristol Bears: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Luke Daniels, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 Steven Luatua (captain), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 John Afoa, 2 Shaun Malton, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Ed Holmes, 20 Dan Thomas, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Will Hurrell
Sale Sharks: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Cameron Redpath, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Will Cliff, 8 Daniel du Preez, 7 Jono Ross (captain), 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 James Phillips, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Luke James
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson & Simon Harding
TMO: Sean Davey
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