Geraghty one step ahead

Heineken Cup – Pool 1 Round 1

Franklin’s Gardens – 10/10/09
Northampton Saints 31, Munster 27

ALMOST a decade since Northampton beat Munster to lift the illustrious Heineken Cup trophy, the club's faithful were reminded of days past as their side defeated the Irish province in this season’s opening round.

A win with a difference you might say as new look captain Dylan Hartley stands at the forefront of Northampton’s ambitions this season. Paul Grayson was the man to kick his side to European glory at the turn of the century and Munster have twice gone on to win the tournament since the loss at Twickenham.

This time, however, it was a new face from London who pulled his side through a dramatic 31 – 27 win in front of a watchful Martin Johnson.

An early penalty opportunity was fluffed by visiting ten Ronan O’Gara while former Exile and man of the match Shane Geraghty took advantage with his turn in front of goal.

Munster found it difficult to undo a resilient Saints defence for the first quarter, felt, none more so, by South African Jean De Villiers on the wrong end of a ferocious tackle from James Downey.

In attack, controlled, thoughtful play from Geraghty encouraged support on and off the field. As the home stands bulged with excitement and anticipation, their side pushed forward from all angles.

A vortex at the centre of a Northampton forward-front, Geraghty finalised a powerful Soane Tong’ulha surge with a delicate chip over the top, which was fumbled on Munster's retreat, fumbled again, and pounced on by a waiting Chris Ashton for the first score of the night on seventeen minutes.

A Munster response was overdue, however, and came in unexpected fashion as fullback Paul Warwick hit a massive drop goal on the touch line 40 meters from goal.

With Munster out of the blocks, O’Gara’s precision kicking was turned into territorial advantage. Saints’ defensive lineout was put to the test and Munster’s play maker was allowed to integrate space on the overlap. Wing Keith Earls used up the yards presented and opened up the chasing Saints defence with similar ease as he kicked his former Lions colleague David Wallace in over the whitewash in the twenty-fifth minute.

A share of penalties then saw ten minutes of to and fro between O’Gara and Geraghty. As it seemed Geraghty was going to slot over the final points of the half, a moment of inspiration broke the mould and changed the game’s outlook forever. A quick tap and go stunned a Munster side regrouping under the posts and produced a score even Geraghty himself may not have foreseen just before the half.

His grace and magic continued in the second forty. A move that started with the ten was switched inside, then moved right through the hands of Foden, and after finding its way back infield, the sea of Munster red was parted for Geraghty to fizz through and offload to Chris Ashton who snuck over the whitewash for a second time only five minutes in.

By the sixty-second minute O’Gara had propped up six more points on the Munster scorecard and a Munster try from the reintroduced rolling maul then brought them back. Tomas O’Leary peeled off the maul to split a topsy defensive line with twelve minutes remaining and O’Gara converted to cut the deficit to a point.

Northampton, like for most of the match, again rediscovered their presence. Persistent pressure overwhelmed a mature and experienced Munster pack shaken at the scrum. A penalty was then awarded for its collapse. Geraghty converted with familiar comfort.

With four points the seperation, Munster now needed a try as the clock hit red. A penalty was given meters from the Northampton line in favour of the visitors and with the losing bonus point already won, Captain O’Connell had no choice but to go for the win. The score failed to succumb to a rampant Munster forward effort and Northampton stood firm to head Pool One in a continuation of good home form.

A point on the road is a preferred bonus for Warriors

WELFORD Road - home of England’s champions and an intimidating prospect for any who dare pay a visit. With wins in the Tigers' past sixteen home encounters, it would seem an understandably tall order for any side looking for points at Leicester’s new look stadia.

Worcester Warriors did however gain their second bonus point of the season at the champions on Saturday but did so surrendering to a third loss out of three on the road.

Mike Ruddock’s men remain sixth in the Premiership splitting the league table after the season’s fifth round, but fall five points behind their weekend’s opponents Leicester who lie just above in fifth.

Astoundingly, it was Worcester who found themselves ahead within the final quarter of their match against the Tigers as fly-half Willie Walker scored on 62 minutes.

And if not for the consistent boot of his opposing number Jeremy Staunton, the Warriors may have been looking at a remarkable away win over their current mid table rivals. Worcester saw out the final minutes to settle for the losing bonus point – replacement Johnny Arr the man to kick Warrior possession into the stands prompting the final whistle.

Sunday saw fellow West Country side Gloucester return victorious from Headingly in their game away to new boys Leeds, and, although their win propels them up the table, the losing bonus point awarded to Worcester still separates the two sides.

Is this clever use of the bonus point system or is Worcester’s glass seemingly half empty this term? After avoiding the drop last season it would appear that the club’s first priority is to still be playing top flight rugby this time next year. Should this be the case, however, if the side are to build on their so far good home form at Sixways?

It would be believed that a side preferring the losing bonus point over a possible away win have had a huge loss of ambition. Welford Road is a formidable fortress to all who make the trip, admittedly, but will remain that way in the foreseeable future if its visitors fail to front up.

The bonus point was instilled to encourage more tries and closer encounters, so, where a team have victory in their sights, it seems irresponsible not to go for the win, even if your opponent is notorious for rampaging over teams.

Leicester’s slow start has seen them yet to ignite their unyielding form of last season, but while the club is momentarily flagging, sides still remain content not to take their game to the Welford Road outfit. The bonus point aims to keep teams ambitious home and away. Unfortunately, if it is abused, the game’s competitive edge may well be taken away altogether.