Was this the greatest game ever played, people were asking in the aftermath of that quarter-final of the Champions Cup a fortnight ago in Bath. Victory by the odd try in 11; home team roared on to successful comeback victory with that 11th try in the last five minutes; Northampton, the away team, 28-7 up after barely 20 minutes, playing rugby of the gods.
A personal opinion is that it certainly was the greatest game ever played … this month. Without wanting to prick any bubbles of enthusiasm that may have swelled in the moments after the latest epic, yes, the match was incredible – and if it had happened in the amateur era would have been consecrated as legend long ago – but have we already forgotten France v England not even a month earlier? What about Scotland v France a week before that? We could go on.
These are special times to be watching rugby. Anyone enjoying it would do well to tune in on Saturday evening to the latest contest between these two, virtually untouchable at the top of the table. Northampton will have the opportunity to work through any frustrations from the classic at the Rec, when they entertain Bath at Franklin’s Gardens. Win that, and the Saints will be looking set for a home tie in the playoffs in June.
They have put out a team to achieve it. There are a handful of serious players out injured at the moment – captain George Furbank joins them after his concussion last weekend in an even more recent last-minute drama, when Northampton prevailed 35-28 at Exeter with Fin Smith’s try at the death – but Saints are at full bore otherwise.
Bath, on the other hand, have chosen this week to rest their first team – although just what that is remains a topic of some debate. Before rolling one’s eyes at the news, it might pay to remember the disappointed reaction to Northampton’s decision to rest a load of their best players for the Christmas visit to Bath. And the Saints fairly blew Bath away in the second half in yet another fabulous display of rugby, the only game Bath have lost at the Rec this season in the two major competitions.
Northampton have not lost at home since November 2024. That was during the always-difficult defence of the title they won the season before. Phil Dowson, as safe a shoo-in as any for future England coach, has done a remarkable job consolidating and bolstering his resources after that relatively lean season, when Saints finished eighth (er, and were runners-up in the Champions Cup). Now they are not only top of the table again, a point ahead of Bath, but playing rugby that in the category of artistic merit finds few peers.
That was on display again last weekend in Devon. There are few strategic errors more grave these days than for a team to gallop off to an early lead. It is virtually assured that it will only provoke a dramatic comeback from the opposition. So it was when Exeter scored twice in the first 10 minutes, only to be overhauled by their visitors. The Saints did it in consummate style too, Smith’s try at the death sheer class, rounding Manny Feyi-Waboso as if the England winger were a bollard.
Tom Litchfield is a relatively new addition to Northampton’s resources in midfield, but he is becoming increasingly influential. “We always trust our game,” he said, “trust our DNA. We have the belief we can always get the result, whether that be in the 81st minute or not.”
One thing that is different this season is the absence of a meaningful race for the playoffs. Not only is rugby fabulous to watch these days, but the English game has developed a habit of reliably generating the mother of all scrambles to make the top four. Not so this year. Only Bristol, at time of writing four points adrift of Exeter, have any realistic chance of breaking into the current leading quartet. And maybe Saracens, another five behind them – but only because they are Saracens. As investors start to eye up English rugby, a return to the intensity of competition is likely, but for now its lack is a drawback.
Just as well the rugby remains exhilarating. When so many matches remain dramas in themselves, it is easy to forget the wider picture. Will people again be asking on Saturday if they have just watched the greatest game ever played? Probably.