Northampton overcame Leeds dogged resistance at Headingley but
the manner of their victory was far from convincing.
Saints produced some fine rugby in the first half, cutting the Tykes defence
to pieces.
Fly-half James Brooks touched down for a try after just eight minutes and with
Paul Grayson in fine form with the boot, the floodgates looked set to open.
But the Saints began to lose concentration as the Tykes fought bravely to
defend their line, holding on 13-3 at the interval.
After the break, the game lost all semblance of shape as both teams battled
for scraps of possession amongst a sea of dropped passes and knock-ons.
Leeds found themselves in trouble early on as the Saints pack foraged deep
into home territory but just as the visitors seemed certain to make the pressure
tell, centre John Leslie conceded a penalty just short of the line.
But the Tykes could not hold out for long as Northampton surged forward again,
spinning the ball to Brooks who skipped round his opposite man for a try
converted by Grayson.
The visitors continued to make their attacking intentions clear as they threw
the ball around in true sevens style - and to some effect with winger Ben Cohen
and Brooks making valuable yards.
Grayson then increased the side's lead before the Tykes finally launched a
meaningful offensive of their own.
But their efforts were met by some aggressive tackling which forced a
turnover, presenting Northampton with an overlap.
However, the try scoring opportunity was squandered and Saints had to settle
for another Grayson penalty.
Leeds added to their woes in the 26th minute with the sin-binning of flanker
Cameron Mather for a professional foul but the odds were evened moments later
when substitute Jon Phillips was shown a yellow card for the same offence.
The ensuing penalty produced three points for Tykes outside half Jon Benson
and the score seemed to settle his side as they finally began to enjoy an equal
share of possession.
And they carried this momentum into the second half, forcing Northampton on to
the defensive deep inside their own territory.
But the danger petered out when poor handling stopped the Tykes advances in
their tracks.
Errors now littered both sides' play and the game descended into a scrappy
stop-start affair.
Grayson and Benson swopped penalties before the Saints full back added another
three pointer, pushing his side 19-6 ahead.
England winger Ben Cohen added a try in the corner in the dying minutes to
seal a hard fought win for the visitors.
Teams
Leeds: Shelley, Holt, Wring, P. Murphy, Palmer, Mather, Ponton,
Hogg, Benton, Benson, Emmerson, Woof, Mayer, Rogers,
Scarborough.
Replacements: Luffman for Holt (71), Kerr for Wring (40),
C. Murphy for P. Murphy (46), Fea'unati for Hogg (46),
O'Reilly for Benton (71).
Not Used: Davies, Stanger.
Sin Bin: Mather (28).
Pens: Benson 2.
Northampton: Smith, Brotherstone, Budgen, Newman, Brouzet,
Brouzet, Blowers, Pountney, Seely, Malone, Brooks, Cohen,
Leslie, Jorgensen, Beal, Grayson.
Replacements: Phillips for Brouzet (27),
Phillips for Brouzet (80), Hepher for Brooks (64),
Tucker for Jorgensen (49).
Not Used: Thompson, Stewart, Hunter, Howard.
Sin Bin: Phillips (31).
Tries: Brooks, Cohen.
Cons: Grayson 2.
Pens: Grayson 4.
Att: 4,080
Ref: John Barnard (RFU).
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