Samu Manoa and Ken Pisi score hat-tricks as Northampton trounce Treviso
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Version 0 of 1. The presence of Treviso makes a misnomer of the Champions Cup. Ten years ago, when they were in a position to attract players, the Italians finished with a 50% record in their group, but since then they have mustered one victory on the road, and that was against another team whose impact on Europe has been that of a worn-out speedbump, Newport Gwent Dragons. It was always going to be a question of when Northampton would secure their try bonus point rather than who would win. They clinched it eight minutes after the break in Treviso, but here they had it secured eight minutes before the interval with the visitors providing little more in the way of opposition than if the holders of tackle bags in a training session. The only concern for the Premiership leaders in their record victory and their opponents’ heaviest defeat in the tournament was a leg injury suffered by the Wales wing George North that he was unable to run off. The ease with which Northampton scored tries reflected the glaring disparity in quality between the sides. Treviso, who lost 19 players last summer, were lacking in most aspects except heart. They kept going, but it was like watching a double decker bus take on a sports car on a racing track: the Saints did not have to press the pedal even halfway to the floor to leave their opponents a mere speck in the rear-view mirror. Such was the training ground nature of the match that Northampton’s director of rugby, Jim Mallinder, was able to bring off some of his key players early in the second-half while next weekend’s Premiership opponents Leicester were having rather more to do in Toulon. The Saints had by then resorted to party trick, blind passes, offloads and sidesteps. It was far too easy. Nothing worked for Treviso. They were shunted back in the scrum, again, and conceded a penalty try after 12 minutes. They blew two lineouts in Northampton’s 22 when Courtney Lawes plundered the throws, they conceded so many penalties at the breakdown that the second-row Marco Fuser copped a yellow card after 29 minutes for his team’s persistent infringing and their defence was more confused than a tourist receiving directions in a foreign language. North scored his side’s second try, finishing off a routine move after a penalty kick at goal had been declined for an attacking lineout, and Kahn Fotuali’i followed him five minutes later. Jayden Hayward’s lazy kick downfield was run back by Ken Pisi from his own 22. He was waved on by defenders before passing inside to his brother George before the scrum-half, having run a clever diagonal line, stepped outside on the right and deepened Hayward’s shame by sending him the wrong way. Short of Fuser, Treviso leaked their fourth when North ran out of defence before finding Calum Clark with a pass out of the back of his hand. Even 30 metres out, there was no one to threaten Ken Pisi on his way to the line. The Pisi brothers had one more try each within eight minutes of the restart, George after a three-man overlap had been squandered and Ken finished off James Wilson’s gliding break. Treviso managed to go 12 minutes without conceding a try, relieved to see Lawes and Clark substituted, at least until they came to realise what Samu Manoa was made of. The USA international scored his first try with his first touch of the ball, claimed his second two minutes later after shrugging off four tackles but took another seven minutes to claim his hat-trick. Treviso were by then back down to 14 men with the replacement prop Cosma Garfagnoli in the sin-bin after yet another breakdown offence. Northampton showed no mercy, Ken Pisi claiming his hat-trick and Ben Foden completing the scoring with his side’s 11th try in what had long been a record victory in the European Cup. Treviso left, as they had arrived, with nothing. |