Northampton 43-31 Saracens: Tommy Freeman stamps England authority with 4-try display

The visitors had struggled to get out of their own half, let alone their 22, and things would be made worse with Tom Pearson bundling over from close range, both kicks unconverted, 10-0.

Saints would look to steamroll their visitors as British and Irish Lions winger Tommy Freeman would score his first try of the evening, Fin Smith switching the ball to George Hendy, who offloaded to Freeman to score.

However, Saints' discipline would yet again put them back on the back foot, as Sarries would come straight back into it, scoring three fast-paced tries to go into the break leading.

A line break from Nick Tompkins and a 2-on-1 pass to Fergus Burke sent the fly-half in to score under the posts, before the latter would then set up a brilliant score for young flyer Jack Bracken.

Those in white were in the ascendancy, a Tom Pearson yellow card would give Saracens a chance to go ahead before the break, Juan Martin Gonzalez making the most of numerous advantages to go over and score. The visitors would continue their ascendancy, Hugh Tizard touching down at the bottom of the posts to extend the North London side's lead.

The game would take another swing, Henry Pollock reading the pass to perfection and running half the length of the field before being illegally stopped by Italian Marco Riccioni, he would be sent to the bin.

Saints would yet again get on top, Pearson getting his second score of the afternoon following sustained pressure on the visitors’ line to make the game a one-score game, 24-25.

Saracens looked to try and regain some grip on the game, but it would be too much when Freeman would then score in two quick-fire tries to take the hosts into the lead, Smith’s kicking game setting up the winger for his 2nd and 3rd.

The young blood of Sarries wouldn’t lie down, though. A clever, quick tap from Charlie Bracken got the young scrum half through the Saints' defence as he offloaded to Max Malins to score in the corner. But it would be the hosts that have the final say, as Freeman yet again scored in the corner, getting his fourth of the evening in an awe-inspiring performance.

Smith's conversion made it 43-31 as Saints England players made their mark a week out from the opening of the Autumn Nations Series. Saints would stay top as Saracens’ away form would take yet another hit with a difficult yet resilient performance at the Gardens.

TRIES: Hendy (9'), Pearson (18', 55'), Freeman (26', 60', 68', 75')

CONVERSIONS: Smith (19', 57', 60', 68')

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1

RED CARDS: 0

15. George Hendy 14. Tommy Freeman 13. Rory Hutichinson 12. Fraser Dingwall 11. Eduardo Todaro 10. Fin Smith 9. Alex Mitchell 8. Henry Pollock © 7. Tom Pearson 6. Alex Coles 5. JJ Van Der Mescht 4. Tom Lockett 3. Trevor Davison 2. Robbie Smith 1. Danilo Fischetti

Replacements

16. Craig Wright 17. Manny Iyogun 18. Luke Green 19. Ed Prowse 20. Callum Chick 21. Archie McParland 22. Anthony Belleau 23. Tom Litchfield

TRIES: Burke (29'), Bracken (36'), Gonzalez (40'), Tizard (47'), Malins (71')

CONVERSIONS: Farrell (31', 40', 47')

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1

RED CARDS: 0

15. Max Malins © 14. Noah Caluori 13. Nick Tompkins 12. Owen Farrell 11. Jack Bracken 10. Fergus Burke 9. Charlie Bracken 8. Tom Willis 7. Andy Onyeama-Christie 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez 5. Hugh Tizard 4. Maro Itoje 3. Marco Riccioni 2. Theo Dan 1. Eroni Mawi

Replacements:

16. James Hadfield 17. Rhys Carre 18. Marcus Street 19. Nick Isiekwe 20. Theo McFarland 21. Ben Earl 22. Gareth Simpson 23. Angus Hall

Following his tour with the British and Irish Lions during the summer, the Saints winger has carried on his impressive form back at his club. Scoring four against Sarries, he showed his power and speed as he was able to beat defenders and ultimately create space for other players to use the ball. There are undoubtedly talks about where he will start for England, whether that is at 14 or 13, but there's no worry that he could easily adapt to both.

The North London side had racked up over 110 points in their opening two home games of the season, putting both Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks to the sword, but in terms of away points, it's been a different story. Defeats to both Harlequins and now Saints mean that they have dropped nine points on the road; whether this is down to fielding a young squad or disruption with England camps, it's unclear, but they will need to change that if they are to get a playoff spot at the end of the season.

With the Autumn internationals just around the corner, players were released by their clubs to train earlier in the week. With both Saints and Sarries having numerous players missing for training, there is an element of disruption. Players switching between club and country, although beneficial for the improvement of players, has made the Prem very stop-start at times with no real consistency.

A lot has been said about another certain Saracens breakthrough star, but the performance of both Bracken brothers could not be ignored. The ruck speed by Charlie Bracken and the vision to spread the ball put the visitors on the front foot at times, and for his brother, the work in the air and the willingness to take players on out wide saw him score a try for one of the tries of the evening.

Although Saracens are very much not out of the talk, Northampton Saints have proved that they can challenge the best of the best. With a bolstered squad this season, the Saints have a real chance to challenge at the top of the table and with numerous

England and Lions players improving and continuing to develop, they will be in pole position to lift the trophy in June.