14 April 3, 2022The Sunday Times
Rugby Union
before rising up towards the head.
Pat Lam, Bristol director of rugby,
said: “We have been hit with a lot of
red and yellow cards for these tackles
but Semi took a shoulder straight to
the head and that was deemed to be
just chest and not red or yellow. It is
happening in every game.”
Northampton spurned numerous
opportunities to score and their
inability to do so was made even
harder for the home fans to take
when Radaradra was put away by
hooker Harry Thacker for the game’s
opening try.
Northampton responded with a
Biggar penalty and then Rory
Hutchinson decided enough was
enough and cut through the Bristol
defence from a line out. He fed Tom
Collins to score, Biggar converted.
Three minutes later, Hutchinson
raced over for a try from a Courtney
Lawes pass. When Biggar added the
conversion the home side were in
control at 17-5.
However, Northampton have
conceded more penalties than any
other Premiership outfit and Bristol
took advantage of their indisciplineNorthampton kept their play-off
hopes alive with a bonus-point
victory over a Bristol team reduced to
13 men during the second half. But
the Bears recovered to register a try
bonus point of their own.
It was, at least, some reward at the
end of a week that in which there
were reports that the club must shed
about £400,000 from their wage bill
to stay under the salary cap.
These are difficult times for
Bristol, with Semi Radradra and Fitz
Harding receiving yellow cards as
they slipped to a ninth away loss from
ten Premiership games on the road
this season.
While the referee, Karl Dickson,
handed out three yellow cards in the
match, he ruled a hit on Radradra by
the Wales fly half Dan Biggar in the
16th minute did not warrant a red,
judging the tackle started on the ballSaints
show little
mercy to
struggling
Bristol
to surge into the home 22. Callum
Sheedy started and finished the move
that brought their second try.
Northampton responded by
switching their attack back to the
right-hand touchline, where Ludlam
collected the ball with three
defenders blocking his way. Head
down, legs pumping, he somehow
made the line for Biggar to convert.
In keeping with the half,
Northampton then allowed Bristol to
within seven points at half-timeChris Jonesbefore Biggar extended the home
side’s lead with another penalty.
Fraser Dingwall then put Freeman in
for the bonus-point try which also led
to Radradra receiving his yellow card.
With Harding’s subsequent yellow
having reduced Bristol to 13, Collins
scored his second try.
Paul Hill then picked up a yellow
card for the hosts for knocking on the
ball and Bristol, when back up to full
strength, worked Alapati Leiua over
for their bonus-point try.Star man: Fraser Dingwall (Northampton).
Scorers: Northampton: Tries Collins (25min, 61),
Hutchinson (28), Ludlam (34), Freeman (56). Cons
Biggar 4. Penalties Biggar 2.
Bristol: Tries Radradra (7), Sheedy (31), Thomas
(38), Leiua (72). Con Sheedy.
Northampton G Furbank; T Freeman, F Dingwall
(Hendy 71), R Hutchinson, T Collins; D Biggar, A
Mitchell (James 63); A Waller (Auterac 56) S
Matavesi (Haywood 61), P Hill, D Ribbans (Coles
54), A Ratuniyarawa (Moon 39), C Lawes, L Ludlam
(capt), J Augustus. Yellow card Hill 66.
Bristol C Piutau (O’Conor 58); S Naulago (Morahan
30), S Radradra (35), A Frisch, A Leiua; C Sheedy
(Eden 52) A Uren (Randall 52); Y Thomas (Benz-
Salomon 73), H Thacker, J Afoa (Armstrong 60) D
Attwood, J Joyce (capt, Kerr 64) C Vui, J Heenan
(Jeffries 48), F Harding. Yellow cards Radradra 55-
65, Harding 60-70.
Referee Karl Dickson.NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 39
BRISTOL 22
P W D L F A BPts
Leicester 20 17 0 3 603 385 12 80
Saracens 20 14 1 5 644 379 14 72
Harlequins 1912 0 7 483 417 15 63
Exeter 2112 0 9 482 418 14 62
Northampton20 11 0 9 593 509 14 58
Sale 21 9 3 9 466 442 12 56
Gloucester 19 10 1 8 495 461 13 55
London Irish 20 8 4 8 538 542 13 53
Wasps 20 10 0 10 514 510 12 52
Bristol 20 6 0 14 459 559 13 37
Newcastle 20 6 1 13 364 491 632
Worcester 20 5 1 14 380 688 8 30
Bath 20 4 1 15 376 596 7 27GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP
minutes remaining and Bath a point
ahead they certainly did for an Exeter
side desperate to keep themselves
ahead of the rest in the top-four race.
The second half developed into an
old-fashioned Exeter siege. Inevitably
Bath cracked under the weight of the
pick-and-drive. Exeter powered over
for the lead and a bonus point. Bath
had seen a 15-point lead ripped from
their grasp. Hogg touched down in the
73rd minute to end all Bath resistance.
The home side had their five points
and restored momentum after a sea-lineout from the penalty kick to half-
way. Sam Simmonds arced outside the
defence and Tom O’Flaherty finished
but a cynical blocking line by Stuart
Hogg bailed out Bath. Amid all the
excitement the referee, Wayne Barnes,
delivered a display of calm control.
If there was one glaring difference
between the fourth and bottom-
placed team it was the lineout. Bath’s
hooker, Tom Dunn, was substituted as
his team held on from a close-range
Exeter lineout. The visitors were play-
ing as if the points mattered; with 20T
his was another fine after-
noon of Premiership rugby.
It took ten minutes for either
side even to consider the
concept of territory. When
Bath’s Tom de Glanville did
kick into the Exeter Chiefs’
corner, the visitors stayed
there until Max Clark slipped an
inside pass to Sam Underhill, who
drew the last Exeter defender to send
Joe Cokanasiga over for the lead.
It did not last long. Jacques Vermeu-
len levelled the scores as Exeter out-
flanked Bath’s overworked defence.
Underhill produced a game’s worth of
big hits and a few turnovers in the
opening ten minutes.
Bath defended as if relegation was
for real. Yet it was the former West
Country giants who scored the third
try in a fabulous first 20 minutes. Joe
Cokanasiga and Underhill looked
internationals from top to toe as they
played their part in Josh Bayliss’s try.
Scotland’s flanker left Tom Hendrick-
son clutching at thin air.
De Glanville dropped a straightfor-
ward first-phase move from a scrum as
Orlando Bailey and Cokanasiga com-
bined to carve Exeter open. They sur-
vived before Bailey, 21, kicked a pen-Exeter siege
puts them
back in hunt
alty in front to give Bath an eight-point
lead. The influence of Danny Cipriani
is obvious. The timing and variety of
his passing is stamped Cipriani.
Bath’s scrum was dominating as the
Russian loose-head, Valeriy Morozov,
worked Patrick Schickerling over but
Exeter’s lineout was stealing and
spoiling in a game of compelling set-
piece contrasts.
Ben Spencer dummied and Bath
were again outside Exeter. The move
ended with another Cokanasiga try.
Exeter’s fly half hobbled off for a head
injury assessment after a low tackle
on Cokanasiga. The “chop” tackle is a
danger to tackler and tackled. It will
take a bad injury before it is taken
seriously. Thankfully Simmonds
returned for the second half.
Exeter pulled themselves together
at the end of the first half as Hogg
produced a lovely line and kick to set
up a score for Dave Ewers. A first half in
which attacking excellence trumped
defence — with the exception of Under-
hill.
Another Hogg surge forced Bath
into conceding a penalty. From the
lineout, Schickerling drove over. Bath’s
early-season fallibility at the catch-and-
drive lineout was exposed as Exeter
rediscovered their old efficiency to
score another before half-time.
Bath seemed to shrug off the first-
half setbacks as Underhill linked won-
derfully well with his backs. Will Muir
knocked on in goal; Cipriani replaced
the subtle skills of De Glanville with hisStuart BarnesSchickerling,
centre,
celebrates
scoring Exeter’s
third try with his
team-matesEXETER CHIEFS 42
BATH 22
35
Unanswered
points scored
by Exeter Chiefs
after Bath had
led 22-7 during
the first halfown box of tricks. Initially he over-
kicked and fed the Exeter ball-carriers.
Muir made a marvellous tackle on Ian
Whitten to stop Exeter taking the lead.
But the Chiefs stole yet another Bath