Northampton Saints 36-33 Harlequins: Ollie Sleightholme grabs two tries in Gallagher Premiership win

Northampton Saints battled to a gritty 36-33 win against Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens with a result that saw both sides move into the top four of the Gallagher Premiership.

It was five tries apiece in the East Midlands to give both teams a try bonus point for round seven. Quins had an early lead through Cadan Murley, who scored just four and a half minutes into his first Premiership appearance of the season. Further tries followed from Jack Walker, George Hammond, Will Evans, and Nathan Jibulu.

Northampton sealed the all-important victory with a bookending brace from Ollie Sleightholme and additional scores from Lewis Ludlam, Alex Mitchell, and Alex Coles. Fly-half George Furbank scored four out of five conversions and a penalty for Saints, while England’s Marcus Smith provided eight points from the tee for Quins.

Quins scored their fifth try in the 79th minute and the quickly taken conversion from Smith gave the visitors a last-minute chance to secure a win. Saints dug deep and fought to hold on to their win, their third in three games at Franklin’s Gardens.

The home side moved up into fourth with 21 points while Quins remained just above them in third thanks to their two bonus points, and have the same amount of points at the end of round seven.

Injury woes just before half-time for Saints saw them lose captain Ludlam and James Ramm, with the forward seen with his foot in a boot for the remainder of the match.

Northampton next face Saracens in round eight at the Stone X, while Harlequins will host last season’s finalists Sale Sharks.

While Northampton took the try bonus point in their win to give them 21 points going into round eight, a losing and a try bonus point for Harlequins means they remain above Saints in the table. Evans’ try gave the visiting side the try bonus point, while replacement hooker Jibulu’s try moved them to within seven points to bag the losing bonus point. With four games remaining in round seven they will have to wait to the end of the weekend to discover their positions going into round eight.

Murley marked his first match of the Premiership season with a try just four minutes in to open the scoring. Sleightholme, who was handed his first start since February, quickly replied to score one of his own before adding a second in the second half.

Furbank stepped into the fly-half position for the 12th time in Saints colours due to Fin Smith being unable to play after a back spasm against Leicester Tigers in round six. The performance that followed was one of pinpoint accuracy and skill in both attack and defence, and he proved instrumental in setting up multiple tries. He kept the scoreboard ticking over with 11 points from the tee, and pulled the strings with aplomb despite the setbacks Saints faced throughout the match.

Northampton Saints XV: Hendy 9, Sleightholme 10, Freeman 7, Dingwall78, Ramm 7 , Furbank 9, Mitchell 9; Waller 8, Matavesi 9, Davison 7, Munga 7, Coles 9, Lawes 8, Pearson 8, Ludlam (capt.) 9.

Replacements: Cruse 7, Waller 7, Millar Mills 7, Lockett 7, Scott-Young 8, James (n/a), Savala (n/a), Litchfield 8

Harlequins Starting XV: Green 7, Murley 8.5, Joseph 7, Esterhuizen 7, Lynagh 7, Smith 7, Care 7; Baxter 7, Walker 8, Lewis 7, Herbst 7, Hammond 8, Lamb 7, Evans 8, Dombrandt (capt.) 7.

Replacements: Jibulu 8, Garcia Botta 7, Chawatama 7, Cunningham-South 7, Chisholm 7, Porter 7, Evans 7, Beard 7

4′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 0 – 5 HARLEQUINS

Care takes a penalty quickly and makes some serious metres. Saints scramble in defence as Quins win the turnover after Hendy takes in the ball. It’s then three on two on the outside and Murley crashes over the line despite the tackle from Mitchell. The Quins man has only played four minutes of the season and he’s already got five points!

8′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 7 – 5 HARLEQUINS

Matavesi sets up the attack well from the lineout, and Sleightholme runs through the gap to score on his first start since February. Dingwall runs an excellent decoy line to allow the winger to sail through! Furbank gets the conversion to put Saints ahead in the opening ten minutes.

31′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 14 – 12 HARLEQUINS

The lineout from Harlequins is poor and the throw sails over the top and hits the deck. Lawes gives the offload from the floor to Ludlam after pouncing on the ball and the captain runs clear to the line! His past mistake of carrying the ball into touch just seconds earlier is forgotten, and he redeems himself in the best way possible as he puts the home team level. Furbank gets the conversion to put Saints ahead by two.

40′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 21 – 12 HARLEQUINS

Mitchell gets over the line! Lamb’s boot knocks the ball out of the scrum and through the feet of Care. Mitchell sees his chance and kicks the ball ahead, and he chases it down to score on the stroke of half-time! Mitchell gets the better of England counterpart Care to make good use of the opportunity in front of him. After a devastating few minutes for Saints, Mitchell’s try sends them into the break with a positive score. Furbank adds the conversion.

45′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 24 – 19 HARLEQUINS

Hammond gets over the line after over 15 phases! He dives over the line after a pass from Smith, but looks to have done some damage in the process as he writhes on the floor in pain. Great build-up play from Quins, with a bolstering run from Esterhuizen to name one in particular. Smith adds the conversion.

61′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 31 – 19 HARLEQUINS

Coles gets the bonus point for Saints! Furbank runs through the middle to draw in three defenders before passing to Coles. He is close to losing it forwards but manages to gather it and crashes over the line in front of the posts despite having Murley and Joseph on his back.An easy conversion for Furbank to take Saints further ahead.

72′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 36 – 26 HARLEQUINS

Saints go from coast to coast and brilliant passes from Furbank to Hendy, and Hendy to Sleightholme to allow the winger to get his second try over the evening! A fantastic finish, and some superb accuracy in the build up. Conversion missed, but Saints have the ten-point lead with eight minutes left.

79′ TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 36 – 33 HARLEQUINS

Jibulu stays low and drives over the line to score Quins’ fifth! The replacement hooker has been instrumental for Quins since coming onto the pitch, massively impressive given he only made his Premiership debut a month ago. Smith gets the conversion quickly to re-start the game.

• Northampton have now won their last three home games, but travel away to defending champions Saracens in round eight.
• Ludlam went into round seven as the player who had made the most post-contact meters in round six (34), but Saints will face an anxious wait to discover the extent of his injury.
• Murley scored 15 tries in 18 appearances in the 2022/23 season, the most in the league. He scored his first try of the 2023/24 season within four and a half minutes of his first appearance.
• There are just 70 days until the start of the Six Nations, so time is ticking for players to impress to be selected.