Northampton Saints Beat Gloucester 28-14 With Four Tries
Northampton Saints scored four tries to beat Gloucester 28-14 at Franklin's Gardens on Saturday. The win lifted them up the Premiership table.
The match was tight for long periods. The two sides were level at 14-14 at half-time, so the second half was all to play for. Northampton's tries came from Tom Pearson, Curtis Langdon, George Hendy and Rory Hutchinson. Anthony Belleau kicked all four conversions, the extra kicks worth two points each that follow a try.
Gloucester had firepower of their own. Max Llewellyn and Will Joseph crossed for their tries, and George Barton kicked two conversions. Their scoring kept the game close, but not close enough to stop Northampton pulling away.
Hutchinson's try was the one that put the game beyond Gloucester. It was Northampton's fourth, and it earned them a bonus point, an extra point in the league table for a team that scores four or more tries in a match. That point can decide where a side finishes at the end of the season.
The result moves Northampton up to third in the Premiership, level on points with second-placed Gloucester. For Gloucester, it was only their second defeat of the season.
Northampton were without fly-half Fin Smith, who is injured. The fly-half wears the No 10 shirt and is usually the team's main kicker and the player who directs the attack. Smith's absence meant the side had to manage without one of their first-choice playmakers.
There was a worry for the home side in the first half. Alex Mitchell went off with a hamstring injury, the muscle at the back of the thigh. Northampton head coach Sam Vesty said Mitchell felt something in his hamstring.
Rugby can be hard on the body. Tackles, rucks and scrums take their toll over 80 minutes, and the autumn fixtures come thick and fast. Players are rotated and managed carefully at this time of year.
For Northampton, the bonus point and the move into the top three are the headline gains. For Gloucester, the defeat is their first real setback in a while, and they will want a quick response.
