1 - Northampton’s scrummaging is painful.
Courtney Lawes, Tom Wood, Jamie Gibson, Teimana Harrison. These are some big names when you think about it, and yet they were having a nightmare against Exeter’s scrum on Friday night. 15 penalties could’ve and should’ve cost the Saints badly, especially when three of them came in the scrum to gift Exeter an early penalty try. Granted, Exeter’s replacement front three of all England and Wales internationals were always going to punish a tired Saints pack, but we saw the same issues time and time again against Worcester Warriors the week prior, and something serious needs to be done, because Saints won’t hang around the play-off places for long with scrummaging like that.
2 - Gareth Steenson can kick, why not kick some more?
As I mentioned above, Saints gave away 15 penalties, all of which were kickable from Exeter’s number 10. The thing that then baffles me is that if you’re going to be awarded 15 penalties, why not kick at least four or five of them? Steenson was flawless with his kicking Friday night, nailing four out of four conversions, two of which from very tight angles at the edge of the pitch. Had he taken two or three of these kicks at least they would’ve been out of sight in the closing ten or 20 minutes. Exeter should’ve closed the game out long before the final whistle, and they’ll know it.
3 - The youngsters get the job done.
Fraser Dingwall is 19 years old, and yet the most noise in the changing room at half time, and the biggest effort on the pitch came from the baby of the team. As the youngest player on the field, he really showed the old boys of the yard how it’s done with a superb score in front of 15,000 at the Gardens. Northampton don’t have too many players in their prime of their careers, you’re either a youngster fresh from the academy or a novice of the rugby pitch and crawling towards an inevitable retirement. They can’t rely on academy players to get it done forever and need to find an in-between like Exeter have with their team, as that balance in the squad clearly benefits them.
4 - Cobus Reinach is one hell of a runner.
That man can seriously move when you need him two, and that’s two weeks back to back his interceptions have required a 50 plus metre sprint for the line after an hour of lung-busting rugby. His fitness and his pace is screaming for a player of the season award, and it makes you wonder if Rassie Erasmus is drifting his eyes towards Cobus. Sure he’s not at Faf de Klerk level yet, but he’s getting closer each week it seems, and if Reinach can perfect his kicking and decision making, I can’t see what’s stopping him switching from the green of Northampton to the green of South Africa some time soon.
5 - Sam Skinner is the next big thing for British and Irish second rowers.
It’s almost as if his call up to Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad has awoken something inside Skinner, as his performance on Friday was absolutely outstanding. It’s never easy facing England’s Lawes in a line-out yet he made it look so easy winning nearly every line-out against his opposite number. His ability to turnover the ball in the ruck reminded me of watching Sam Warburton when he burst onto the scene all those years ago. Skinner was an absolute joy to watch and would’ve been my man of the match had Reinach not had an absolute stormer of a game, but the only way is up for Scotland’s newest weapon in their arsenal. Ask him about his New Year’s Revolutions this week and I’m sure he’s got a Six Nations debut in his mind without a shadow of a doubt.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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