Chalk this up as a victory for the Northampton Knicks. In a remarkable match with 18 tries, 119 points were racked up and defence relegated to the merest of afterthoughts, the defending Prem champions romped home.
Ollie Sleightholme helped himself to a hat-trick and Tommy Freeman two of Northampton’s 11, in the second-highest scoring match in the league’s history, behind Saints’ 94-33 win over Bristol in May.
Bath, for their part, scored seven tries but ended up comfortably beaten. For it was a contest that left us questioning much of what we thought we knew about the sport. Tries are supposed to come at a premium, not as an inevitability.
Some wonderful ones were scored, the fly-halves Fin Smith and Finn Russell showcased their array of tricks, but when 69 defenders are beaten in 80 minutes, you are left wondering quite what you have witnessed.
A penny for the thoughts of the England head coach, Steve Borthwick. If England try to play with this sort of abandon at next year’s World Cup they are in for a rude awakening. Knockout international rugby does not give out tries for free.
It was, however, entertaining. The comparison with basketball is often held up as a criticism by purists who love nothing more than an arm-wrestle, but not for nothing are the Harlem Globetrotters one of the hottest tickets in town. It is just that we are having to recalibrate what we thought we knew about the domestic game. A number of directors of rugby are convinced that while we are witnessing an attacking boom, defence will soon be back in vogue. On this evidence we are still waiting.
Maybe it is too curmudgeonly to complain. The skills showcased by both sides in their ability to capitalise on turnover ball took the breath away at times. Most neutrals would agree that it beats a 9-6 dogfight in the mud. But you are still left with a feeling that you have watched an 80-minute highlights reel rather than a match that ebbs and flows. It is a dream for marketing departments, but it feels like sport for the instant gratification generation.
“I know people will say it is too easy to score, but you’re not going to please everybody,” said Northampton’s director of rugby Phil Dowson. “I think there’s a balance. We don’t want it to be 99-88. It’s not basketball, but we also don’t want a 9-3.
“I used to have a coach called Mike Friday and one of his sayings was that ‘you can’t defend good rugby’ and there’s lots of good rugby being played.
“I have no doubt there will be some games this season that will be tough, ugly, horrible and nasty. But we want to be able to enjoy and reward great rugby. And, by the way, basketball is selling loads of tickets to sold out arenas.”
Northampton drew first blood with Smith cruising through a gap after a lovely show and go, but not to be outdone Russell replied with a moment of magic of his own, offloading to Arthur Green, who fed Tom Carr-Smith to score. Bath’s ascendancy was soon rewarded again with Charlie Griffin squeezing over on the left.
Saints responded with Sleightholme finishing a glorious move – showcasing the kind of dexterity the All Blacks had shown a few hours earlier – before James Pater put his winger clear.
Freeman was soon in on the act before Bath came again when Archie Griffin barrelled over and Green went over on the left once more. The young hooker, Kepu Tuipulotu, played eye-catching roles in both. Fraser Dingwall then dummied his way over for the eighth try of the first half.
Two tries apiece inside 11 minutes of the second half kept Bath’s noses ahead. Green forced his way over on the left soon after the restart before Pater scampered clear after Santi Carreras had spilled a long pass near halfway. The Argentina full-back made amends by waltzing over before Josh Kemeny was released on the left.
Alex Mitchell broke away for Northampton’s seventh try to restore the lead at 45-41. Bath introduced their Bomb Squad, but proceeded to be blown away and by the end of the third quarter Northampton were further ahead.
Freeman began a flowing move inside his own 22 before Sleightholme had the pace to finish in the corner. Sleightholme was in the mood by this point and, after Ollie Lawrence had been sent to the sin-bin, he wriggled his way through the defence to complete his hat-trick.
Bayliss kept Bath in the hunt, but scores for Alex Coles and another for Freeman gave Northampton a comfortable ride to the finish line.
“Maybe 50 is not the margin any more,” said Bath’s Johann van Graan. “To get 50 was at some stage a big achievement, now we score 48 away from home. But I would say that is a big positive in the game of rugby. Maybe it evens out as the season goes.”
