Today, people are all discussing the appearance of Northampton Saints player Courtney Lawes during their Champions Cup match against Munster, as he made a distinct change to his appearance
One viewer commented: “Clearly his recent concussion is a serious concern.”
Another said: “It’s probably more a psychological thing for Courtney as Scrums cap have been shown to have no effect on likelihood of concussion.”
A third wrote: “Borthwick always wore a scrum cap. Lawes trying to get in his good books.
Munster held out on their considerable first half advantage, to withstand the comeback of Northampton Saints. A 24-0 half time lead, was a strong enough foundation for Munster to secure the victory, despite the best efforts of the valiant Saints.
The first half presented a dominant Munster performance. Joey Carbery started the afternoon’s points tally with an impressive penalty on the first minute, from just inside the Saints half. The home side only built on from there, and kept Northampton back-peddling for their opening try.
A quick tap penalty saw Munster prop Dave Kilcoyne hurtling towards the Saints defenders. Nial Scannell picked the ball from the back of the breakdown, and a played a neat reverse pass to the charging Gavin Coombes to score. Carbery’s conversion extended the home side’s advantage.
Just a minute later, the uphill battle for Northampton took a sharper incline. Hooker Mike Haywood was sent to the sin bin, following his off-the-ball challenge on Joey Carbery, who was chasing after his own kick. Munster took advantage of the extra man, and crossed over for their second try after 19 minutes. Coombes was once again involved, his offload to O’Donoghue put the flanker into space to extend the lead.
O’Donoghue tarnished an otherwise stand-out performance, with a blatant red card offence and subsequent sending off. He lead with his shoulder and made direct contact to the ball carrier’s head, leaving Munster to play the remaining hour with 14 men.
Gavin Coombes stepped up once more, in a shining performance for Munster. He grounded the ball following a short pick and drive, as the Saints defensive line could not handle the relentless onslaught of carries.
Those watching on at Thomond Park could have hardly recognised the Northampton Saints side, who emerged from the tunnel after half time. Conceding 24 unanswered points in the first 40 minutes, saw Munster leave at the break with a considerable advantage. Despite losing Jack O’Donoghue, they had a dominant hold on the game.
Yet the Saints responded with a re-invigorated fire. They fought back valiantly, with Tommy Freeman’s try just five minutes into the second half. Saints fans knew they had a long battle ahead of them, but thoughts of ‘what if?’ began to emerge. Freeman waited for the ball to go wide after short picks at the posts, and dotted the ball down.
Fin Smith’s penalty reduced the deficit to 24-10, after 50 minutes. Just two converted scores against 14 men was required, and Northampton were playing as an inspired team. James Ramm breathed more life into the belief of a Saints comeback, with his try just before the hour.
Centre Rory Hutchinson and Winger James Ramm personified the Northampton belief. Hutchinson’s kick along the right wing seemed hopeful, but Ramm’s chase and tackle on the covering Carbery caught Munster on the backfoot. James Ramm was able to pick and drive his way through the retreating Munster defenders.
Despite the best efforts of Fin Smith to kick his side into the lead, time simply ran out for the Saints. Two penalties from Smith, and one more from Carbery caused the finale of this match to be played out on a knife-edge. The home fans could breath a sigh of relief upon the final whistle, and confirmed that Saints would lose their third consecutive match in Europe this season, and remain at the bottom of Pool B.