Dylan Hartley gave the watching Eddie Jones some timely encouragement by scoring his first Premiership try since December last year to help Northampton secure their opening win of the new season. The Saints were also indebted to 17 points from the boot of Welsh fly-half Dan Biggar, which proved enough to stifle a second-half rally from a gallant Harlequins side.
Hartley has played so little rugby for club or country since March to make quietly satisfying nights like this all the more precious. “Those are the games we were losing last season, so it’s nice,” said the England captain. “Last season was a particularly sour one and there are a lot of wrongs we want to put right, both as a team and personally as well.”
Against all odds, however, Saints finished the game clinging on as Quins pushed for the converted score that would have yielded an unlikely draw. In the event they fell just short, with a crucial counter-ruck in front of the posts in added time providing last-gasp relief for Saints. Marcus Smith enjoyed a highly promising game at fly-half for Quins as Jones ponders his squad options for England’s next training camp in Bristol this month.
These are early days for the new-look Saints but under their new Kiwi coach, Chris Boyd, there are already encouraging signs. When they fully hit their straps they will be a fast-moving handful and two thrillingly sharp attacks in the opening moments were only frustrated by a brace of fine try-saving tackles from Smith.
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Despite the pre-match withdrawal of their England prop Joe Marler with a dead leg, Quins also displayed a good deal of positive intent on a beautifully still early season evening. The visitors topped 50 points on the opening weekend against Sale Sharks and are also looking to put a disappointing campaign last season behind them.
The upshot was a frenetic first half long on enthusiasm but less notable for its ball retention. Quins’ head coach, Paul Gustard, was proud of his side’s defence but unhappy with some of the breakdown penalties against his team that enabled Biggar to emerge as an increasingly pivotal figure. Having initially turned down a kickable penalty in favour of a lineout that was frustratingly turned over, the outside half kicked three of his subsequent four first-half shots at goal with the other bouncing off a post.
The former Osprey will contribute plenty more points in the East Midlands before he is finished, particularly if the Saints pack can provide him with a half-decent platform. Courtney Lawes looks in particularly good early season nick and the South African openside Heinrich Brüssow is a reliable source of buzzing energy.
To mount a second-half comeback, Quins urgently needed to turn the tide. Instead they found themselves increasingly marooned in their own 22, with Saints only denied the game’s first try when the television match official ruled Cobus Reinach had been held up after good approach work from Harry Mallinder. Biggar soon slotted another penalty instead and the sight of Hartley trotting on as a replacement further improved the home crowd’s mood.
The stadium briefly fell quieter when Danny Care twisted over from close range for the game’s first try in the 53rd minute, before Hartley was driven over by his forwards to insulate Saints from a 73rd-minute Quins try by James Lang. Northampton will need to find another gear against the league’s top sides but under Boyd they are at least heading in the right direction.