{"id":299519,"date":"2023-12-03T08:55:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-03T08:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usasportsradar.com\/?p=299519"},"modified":"2023-12-03T08:55:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T08:55:54","slug":"owen-farrell-a-big-miss-as-courtney-lawes-stars-in-northampton-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usasportsradar.com\/rugby-union\/owen-farrell-a-big-miss-as-courtney-lawes-stars-in-northampton-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Owen Farrell a big miss as Courtney Lawes stars in Northampton win"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Owen Farrell is a big miss for Saracens as Courtney Lawes stars in Northampton Saints&#8217; 18-12 win&#8230; and Bristol hammer Gloucester<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Owen Farrell has taken time away from rugby to focus on himself and his family<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Courtney Lawes put in a performance that will make England selectors miss him<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Tommy Freeman delivered a performance of international standard at centre<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After stepping down from England duty, Owen Farrell was sitting in the stand with his son, Tommy, when he received a round of applause in the 10th minute.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is that the No 10, who is recovering from a knee injury, would much rather have been on the pitch as he watched his team slip to defeat by Northampton.<\/p>\n<p>Saracens missed the growl of their skipper on a day when Courtney Lawes, his former understudy to the national captaincy, stole the show.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, Northampton have not always backed up their style with steel. Their attack has earned more plaudits than their defence, but here they fronted up collectively and individually.<\/p>\n<p>Every collision had bite. They dominated the rucks and Lawes set the tone with a performance that will leave England selectors wishing he had not retired from international duty.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510673-0-image-a-14_1701555155626.jpg\" height=\"385\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Owen Farrell appeared at the StoneX stadium but only as a spectator with his young son<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510683-0-image-a-15_1701555160620.jpg\" height=\"379\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Northampton put Saracens to the sword with strong performance against the Champions<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510687-0-image-a-17_1701555182106.jpg\" height=\"415\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Scrum half Alex Mitchell grabbed himself a try and Saints&#8217; offloading game worked well<\/p>\n<p>For an hour, the champions were unable to score a single point. Their driving mauls were repelled and Saracens\u2019 frustrations were clear when they saw a penalty reversed after a shove by Billy Vunipola.<\/p>\n<p>Continuing his transition to the centres, Tommy Freeman delivered a performance of international standard, manhandling Nick Tompkins in midfield. His running game has been impressive, too, with Brian O\u2019Driscoll comparing him to Welsh powerhouse George North.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Tommy was obviously disappointed not to go to the World Cup,\u2019 said Northampton coach Phil Dowson. \u2018He can play in the centres, at wing or full-back.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s definitely put his hand up and Steve (England head coach Borthwick) is talking about him.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Fly-half Fin Smith will move up the England pecking order in Farrell\u2019s absence and the youngster kicked six points to give Northampton a half-time lead.<\/p>\n<p>He is unlikely to overtake Marcus Smith and George Ford for England\u2019s No 10 jersey, but on yesterday\u2019s evidence could pull the strings for their A team.<\/p>\n<p>In the 53rd minute, Northampton bagged their first try. George Furbank spotted space around the ruck and glided behind enemy lines. Fraser Dingwall pinged a crossfield kick and Ollie Sleighthome scored on the wing.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Parton replied with a Saracens try, but Northampton showcased their running skills in the final quarter.<\/p>\n<p>Scrum-half Alex Mitchell was the beneficiary of their offloading game, sprinting between Alex Goode and Manu Vunipola to give his team an unassailable lead.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Lewington\u2019s late try secured Sarries a bonus point, but it was not enough to mask their frustrations.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510689-0-image-a-18_1701555193864.jpg\" height=\"511\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Courtney Lawes put in a dominant performance as the engine room of Saints defence and attack<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510685-0-image-a-16_1701555175724.jpg\" height=\"385\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>England selectors will be ruing the decision Lawes made to hang up his international boots<\/p>\n<p><span>Bristol smash Gloucester in seven try romp<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Bristol ran in seven tries in a 51-26 hammering that handed Gloucester a sixth straight loss.<\/p>\n<p>Harry Randall crossed twice, with England\u2019s Max Malins and Ellis Genge also going over.<\/p>\n<p>Bath moved up to second after pulling away to beat Exeter 41-24 at the Rec.<\/p>\n<p>Alfie Barbeary and Cameron Redpath scores, plus a Finn Russell penalty, took Bath 12-0 ahead but Henry Slade\u2019s try, conversion and penalty drew the Chiefs within two points.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Spencer and Stu Townsend traded tries as Bath led 20-17, but Joe Cokanasiga, Barbeary and Will Butt all crossed to seal the win.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510695-0-image-a-20_1701555229057.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Bristol crunched Gloucester at Ashton Gate in a one-sided game that saw them score seven tries<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/02\/22\/78510693-0-image-a-19_1701555216095.jpg\" height=\"434\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Bears&#8217; excellent attacking performance handed a struggling Gloucester side their sixth straight loss<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12818681\/Owen-Farrell-big-miss-Saracens-Courtney-Lawes-stars-Northampton-Saints-12-18-win-Bristol-hammer-Gloucester.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Owen Farrell is a big miss for Saracens as Courtney Lawes stars in Northampton Saints&#8217; 18-12 win&#8230; and Bristol hammer [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Owen Farrell a big miss as Courtney Lawes stars in Northampton win - USA SportsRadar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usasportsradar.com\/rugby-union\/owen-farrell-a-big-miss-as-courtney-lawes-stars-in-northampton-win\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Owen Farrell a big miss as Courtney Lawes stars in Northampton win - USA SportsRadar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Owen Farrell is a big miss for Saracens as Courtney Lawes stars in Northampton Saints&#8217; 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