Following Northampton Saints’ 28-7 defeat to Leicester Tigers in the East Midlands derby, here is how we scored Phil Dowson’s side in the PREM Rugby clash.
Northampton Saints player ratings v Leicester Tigers
15 James Pater: Possibly the biggest game of his young career to date, but comes out in good credit. Started off in perfect fashion with an early score, but backed that up with steady work under an aerial bombardment in trying conditions. 7
14 Tommy Freeman: A few nice flashes ball-in-hand, especially early on, but not the usual highlight-reel stuff that we have come to expect from the winger. 5
13 Rory Hutchinson: Certainly looked for ways to get involved in proceedings, but was kept under wraps. 5
12 Fraser Dingwall (c): Used in a slightly different way to usual, given the conditions, and seemed to enjoy it for the most part. Offered a different threat in Saints’ attack with the carry and got good change out of it. 6
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11 George Hendy: Not a day for wingers by any means, but made the most of what he was given with a team-high tally of 53 metres from just three carries. 5
10 Fin Smith: Standout effort from the England fly-half. Always seemed to make things happen when his side needed it most, finding inventive ways of unpicking the Tigers’ otherwise solid defence. 7
9 Alex Mitchell: Didn’t necessarily do much wrong here but, like several of his teammates, he couldn’t have his usual effect on proceedings. 5
Back-row
8 Henry Pollock: Travelled pretty well all told, and avoided the shadow-boxing exploits of his last trip to Mattioli Woods Welford Road at that. Got stuck into the breakdown battle to good effect, and posted a tidy nine tackles along the way. 6
7 Tom Pearson: Fine without setting the pitch alight. Worked hard in the tight for his side and went looking for work. 5
6 Josh Kemeny: Comes out in good credit after a strong display. Proved a real nuisance in the lineout, and stepped up to the plate exceptionally well in defence with 13 tackles at 100 per cent success rate. 7
Tight five
5 Ed Prowse: Not a headline-grabber, but rock solid in the tight on a day that called for efforts like that. One of his side’s key leaders in defence throughout his shift. he took the fight to Leicester’s unit in the process. 6
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4 Alex Coles: A typically industrious shift from the in-form lock, as he worked hard for his side in the tight. 6
3 Cleopas Kundiona: Looked to get involved around the park where possible, but the scrum was messy all day and he was on the wrong side of a few penalties. 5
2 Curtis Langdon: Lineouts were hit-and-miss, which was to be expected considering the conditions, but he was heavily involved in the attack and topped the carrying stats at the time of his exit with 11 runs for 25 metres. 6
1 Emmanuel Iyogun: As mentioned, the scrum was not a high point of Northampton’s game, but he rolled up his sleeves and went hunting for work in defence with 10 tackles at 100 per cent success rate. 5
Replacements: Came on at a tricky time in the game, but they couldn’t rescue their side in the second-half. Tom Lockett’s sin-binning felt like the proverbial final nail in the coffin, but as a collective they were just unable to stem Leicester’s growing storm as the Tigers ran away with the victory. 5