Northampton defied a succession of injuries and a determined Toulon to register a 22-19 Champions Cup victory at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saints led for most of the match until their former second row David Ribbans, who departed the east Midlands at the end of last season, went over in the 66th minute to give the Top 14’s second-placed side the lead.
Wings Tom Seabrook and George Hendy had been lost to knee problems in each half and shortly after the break there was also the worrying sight of scrum-half Fin Smith receiving treatment. To compound an alarming night on the injury front, Hendy’s replacement Ollie Sleightholme limped off as well.
But the pendulum swung when Toulon had Mattéo Le Corvec and Jérémy Sinzelle sent to the sin-bin in the same passage of play, leaving them to complete the last five minutes with only 13 men. It proved too big a challenge as Northampton broke through soon after when replacement lock Tom Lockett scored in the right corner with Smith converting.
Courtney Lawes was man of the match as Northampton made it two from two in this season’s Champions Cup, lifting the record of Premiership clubs to eight wins in nine games. Lawes made several important contributions to help stall Toulon’s fightback. Full-back George Furbank finished with two tries, showing his strength for the second score.
“That was a hell of a shift from the boys,” Lawes told TNT Sports. “A great game, very back and forth. Toulon played great, so props to them. we showed a lot of heart at the end there to come back and grasp it. The plan was the same as always, just stick to our guns. The defence again was the backbone of the performance today.”
Glasgow hold on in Bayonne, Scarlets stunned
Glasgow edged out Bayonne 12-11, holding on for a much-needed away win in Pool 3 and bouncing back from their opening home defeat to Northampton.
The home captain, Camille Lopez, knocked over the opening penalty after Zander Fagerson was shown a yellow card in the 28th minute. Bayonne built on that lead with a try from a lineout drive, scored by the Argentina hooker Facundo Bosch.
Still down to 14 men, Glasgow conjured up a brilliant response through their No 8, Ally Miller, who ran in a 30-metre solo try, converted by Ross Thompson, to put Glasgow a point behind at half time.
Lopez made it 11-7 to the hosts with a second penalty soon after the restart, but Glasgow edged ahead before the hour mark with their second try. Josh McKay found an overlap on the left and sprinted to the corner, finishing with an acrobatic dive.
That proved to be the final score of the game, although Australia’s Reece Hodge came off the bench for Bayonne and pushed two monster kicks just wide of the posts as Glasgow were forced to hold on for the final whistle.
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In the Challenge Cup, Santiago Socino ran in two crucial tries before half-time to help Gloucester to a 28-17 victory over Clermont at Kingsholm.
The Argentinian’s double enabled Gloucester to take a commanding 22-10 lead into the interval. Jonny May also touched down and Santiago Carreras booted 13 points as the hosts held off a second-half fightback.
Scarlets endured a harrowing evening as they were thumped 23-7 at home by Black Lion. The Georgian club, making their European debut, scored tries in either half through Miriani Modebadze and Beka Mamrikashvili.
Luka Matkava added 13 points with the boot for the visitors, while Vaea Fifita’s fourth-minute try proved to be the highlight for the Welsh side, who have now lost seven of their last nine in all competitions.
“I thought we were poor to be honest,” said the Scarlets coach, Dwayne Peel. “Our speed into the breakdown wasn’t good enough. I don’t think we attacked very well. We were taught a lesson at scrum-time and got penalised at almost every one.”
