Four-try Freeman stars as Saints beat Saracens

MATCH REPORT: England wing Tommy Freeman ran in four tries as Northampton Saints fought back to defeat Saracens 43-31 in a clash between the Prem’s top two sides.

The match at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens first swung the way of the hosts as they surged into a 17-0 lead, but 26 unanswered points either side of half-time put Saracens in the box seat.

The outcome finally swung on a yellow card to Sarries’ Marco Riccioni as Saints seized back control to move six points clear at the top of the table ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.

Northampton struck first after eight minutes when Fin Smith’s kick through sat up perfectly for George Hendy to gather and go clear, with Smith unable to convert the try from out wide.

Smith’s grubbers were causing all sorts of trouble for Saracens and when Max Malins could not deal with one such kick down the right, Tom Pearson was on hand to fall on the loose ball.

Smith converted for 12-0 and a dominant first 25 minutes from Northampton was rounded off when the ball was worked right to Hendy who timed his pass for Freeman to score in the corner.

Saracens pulled a much-needed try back after 28 minutes when Nick Tompkins slipped through an attempted tackle before sending Fergus Burke under the posts.

The momentum had suddenly swung as Sarries pulled themselves back within a score when a superb kick to the left wing by Burke gave Jack Bracken a straightforward run-in.

Saints conceding a string of penalties in their own 22 then led to Pearson being sent to the sin bin, with the visitors completing a rapid turnaround off the final play of the first half as Juan Martin Gonzalez powered over.

Owen Farrell’s conversion put Saracens 19-17 ahead at half-time and the visitors had a bonus-point score before Pearson’s return as Hugh Tizard crashed over following a typically rampaging carry by Tom Willis.

Northampton were handed a lifeline when Sarries tighthead Riccioni was sin-binned for getting in the way of Alex Mitchell’s pass close to his own line.

Almost immediately, Saints reduced the deficit to 26-24 as Pearson powered over for his second try of the night and by the time an hour had been played, they were in front as Mitchell’s pass gave Freeman a walk-in.

Freeman then completed his hat-trick after 68 minutes when a long pass out right by Rory Hutchinson allowed him to saunter into the corner.

Saracens were not done yet, however, as brilliant work by Charlie Bracken off a quickly taken penalty led to Malins going over.

But victory for Northampton was finally secured with five minutes left when Smith’s cross-field kick was taken by Freeman who gleefully ran in his fourth.

The scorers:

For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Hendy, Pearson 2, Freeman 4
Cons: Smith 4

For Saracens:
Tries: Burke, J Bracken, Gonzalez, Tizard, Malins
Cons: Farrell 3

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall (captain), 11 Edoardo Todaro, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Henry Pollock, 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Alex Coles, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Robbie Smith, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Luke Green, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Archie McParland, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Tom Litchfield

Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Bracken, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Charlie Bracken, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Theo McFarland, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Gareth Simpson, 23 Angus Hall

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant Referees: Harry Walbaum and Andrew Jackson
TMO: Christophe Ridley