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Northampton Beat Cardiff 28-12 at Franklin's Gardens in Champions Cup Opener
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Northampton beat Cardiff 28-12 at Franklin's Gardens in Champions Cup opener. It was the only English side to win in the opening round.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Saints edge Cardiff
Northampton beat Cardiff 28-12 at Franklin's Gardens in the Investec Champions Cup opening round, with Saints leading 14-0 at half-time and then holding off a late Cardiff fightback. George Hendy scored a crucial second-half try after Anthony Belleau was sin-binned for hands in the ruck near his own line, and Fraser Dingwall added a score with a minute to go to make the game safe. Cardiff struck back through Harri Millard and Mason Grady, and Jarrod Evans added the extras after Millard’s try to bring the visitors within two points.
The match unfolded in wet conditions, with Saints and Cardiff both struggling for handling as the wet weather ruled out the possibility of the 18 tries seen in Northampton’s 71-48 win over Bath last Saturday. The referee, Jérémy Rozier, disallowed a Cardiff try after a TMO check showed Tom Manz had fumbled the ball in trying to ground it.
Hendy’s decisive moments
Phil Dowson said Hendy’s impact was decisive, telling the Guardian, "That has always been his forte, his super strength, George can break the game open, he can make breaks other people can’t,". Dowson also credited Hendy’s last-ditch defense, as the Telegraph described the winger pulling off an "incredible try-saving tackle on Josh Adams" in the final quarter. Cardiff’s comeback threatened to gather momentum when Evans’ long pass gave Grady a walk-in for an unconverted try after Belleau’s sin-bin, but Hendy responded by turning from try scorer to try saver.
Northampton’s captain for the day, Callum Chick, went close to a third try after half-an-hour when he knocked on in the act of stretching for the line, while Cardiff’s early pressure was repeatedly met by Saints’ defence. Hendy’s try-saving tackle came after Josh Adams tore away down the left, and the Telegraph framed it as a moment that made the last 10 minutes uncomfortable for Cardiff.
English win, next fixtures
Northampton became the only English side to win in the opening round of the Champions Cup, ending a weekend in which six other sides lost after Gloucester drew against champions Bordeaux-Begles. Cardiff’s return to the top tier of Europe after two seasons in the Challenge Cup came with a five-day turnaround to a United Rugby Championship fixture against Sharks at Cardiff Arms Park, and the scheduling forced Cardiff to rotate. Saints travel to Stade Francais in December and return to France in January to face Montpellier before a home finish to the group stage against Bulls, while Cardiff host Bath in December and then face Stade Francais and Montpellier in January.
The match also featured a late change at scrum-half for Cardiff, with South African Johan Mulder coming in for Aled Davies, and the line-ups included Northampton’s James Pater and Cardiff’s Dafydd Hughes as captain. The Telegraph framed the result as Saints saving Prem Rugby from a complete Champions Cup washout, while the BBC described the outcome as Northampton getting off to a winning start without a bonus point.