In a remarkable match with 18 tries, 119 points were racked up and defence relegated to the merest of afterthoughts, the defending Prem champions romped home. Ollie Sleightholme helped himself to a hat-trick and Tommy Freeman two of Northampton’s 11, in the second-highest scoring match in the league’s history, behind Saints’ 94-33 win over Bristol in May. Bath, for their part, scored seven tries but ended up comfortably beaten.
For it was a contest that left us questioning much of what we thought we knew about the sport. Tries are supposed to come at a premium, not as an inevitability. Some wonderful ones were scored, the fly-halves Fin Smith and Finn Russell showcased their array of tricks, but when 69 defenders are beaten in 80 minutes, you are left wondering quite what you have witnessed.
A penny for the thoughts of the England head coach, Steve Borthwick. If England try to play with this sort of abandon at next year’s World Cup they are in for a rude awakening. Knockout international rugby does not give out tries for free.
It was, however, entertaining. The comparison with basketball is often held up as a criticism by purists who love nothing more than an arm-wrestle, but not for nothing are the Harlem Globetrotters one of the hottest tickets in town. It is just that we are having to recalibrate what we thought we knew about the domestic game.
A number of directors of rugby are convinced that while we are witnessing an attacking boom, defence will soon be back in vogue. On this evidence we are still waiting. Maybe it is too curmudgeonly to complain.
The skills showcased by both sides in their ability to capitalise on turnover ball took the breath away at times. Most neutrals would agree that it beats a 9-6 dogfight in the mud. But you are still left with a feeling that you have watched an 80-minute highlights reel rather than a match that ebbs and flows.
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