Leeds Carnegie 13 Northampton Saints 23: Leeds are left with mountain to climb to stay up

Leeds remain rooted to the foot of the table having played a game more than their nearest challengers, Newcastle Falcons.

A try from Danny Paul and eight points from the boot of fly-half Adrian Jarvis were not enough to prevent yet another defeat at Headingley Carnegie on Saturday.

But head coach Neil Back was not impressed with referee Chris White’s performance in front of a crowd of little more than 4,000.

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“The tackle contest was very interesting in the interpretation and it negated either side having quick ball so it was a problem,” he said.

“The law states the tackler must release and not stay on the ball and that didn’t happen but it slowed the ball down for both sides and made it fragmented and difficult.

“Also the scrum was an issue as well – when the scrum goes round 90 degrees it’s either a penalty or it’s opposition ball and it was a reset.”

Northampton head coach Jim Mallinder praised fly-half Stephen Myler after his fine performance earned the Saints a 23-13 win which sent them back into the top four.

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The fly-half scored 18 points, including a try, to help end Northampton’s six-match losing streak at Headingley.

Mallinder said: “There was lots of questions asked of him particularly over the last few weeks and he played well.

“He scored a try, kicked his points, not easy penalties, and you need somebody who will keep the scoreboard ticking over.”

The Saints were also boosted by the return of scrum-half Lee Dixon from injury, and Mallinder was pleased to see his partnership with Myler.

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“When Lee Dixon plays, he gives real energy and tempo to the side and I think he did that today,” he added. “I think that some of our attacking play looked a lot sharper and we got on the front foot and created quite a lot of opportunities.”

The club will also see the return of their international players from the Six Nations in time for their next league game as they push for a play-off place.

Mallinder added: “We have lost a couple of games before with internationals so it wasn’t all about them being here or not being here.We knew we’d got a good enough side to win today, we worked really hard in the week.

“We’re pleased that we’ve got through this little part of our season and what we need to do now is build on it with gusto.”

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Despite the try by back-row Paul and eight points from the boot of Jarvis, Leeds are rooted to the foot of the table, seven points adrift of nearest rivals Newcastle.

Buoyed by their stunning victory over London Irish, Leeds came out with intent and their early pressure was rewarded as Jarvis stroked a penalty.

With hooker Steve Thompson away on England duty against Scotland at Twickenham yesterday, Carnegie’s lineout struggled and after Scott Freer’s throw was stolen, full-back Michael Stephenson dropped a kick from Myler to allow the stand-off to follow up for his own converted try.

The hosts reduced the gap when Jarvis booted over his second three-pointer, before Myler responded with one of his own when Leeds were adjudged to be offside.

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Saints then had the chance to extend their advantage but Myler’s long-range penalty attempt drifted wide.

It was Leeds who had the next chance but, with Saints full-back Shane Geraghty out of position, centre Luther Burrell decided to offload when a kick through looked by far the better option for him.

With half-time approaching, the home side thought they had a breakaway, but as flanker Hendrie Fourie – who had been released from England’s Six Nations squad, streaked clear – he was called back for a knock-on.

Straight from the kick-off in the second half, Courtney Lawes showed no ill-effects from his recent injury lay-off by crushing scrum-half Scott Mathie but it failed to spark an error-ridden encounter.

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Leeds then had the perfect opportunity to get their first try of the match but their set-piece problems came back to haunt them once again as Northampton pilfered the ball from a five-metre scrum.

Buoyed by their ferocious defence, Saints went on the front foot and won a penalty 40 metres out which Myler converted.

The away side’s stand-off then extended that advantage with another three points before they scored the game-defining try.

After a barrage of attacks, Myler popped an inside ball for winger Paul Diggin to run onto and evade several missed tackles before touching down between the posts, with the same man adding the extras.

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With seven minutes left, the hosts gave themselves hope when Paul powered through some weak attempted tackling for a try which Jarvis converted, but Jarvis then missed the chance to secure a losing bonus point when his penalty hit the post in the dying seconds.

Leeds Carnegie: Stephenson, Fa’afili, Burrell, S Barrow, Wackett, Jarvis, Mathie, Hardy, Freer, Gomez, Browne, Hohneck, Myall, Fourie, To’oala. Replacements: Tadulala for S. Barrow (63), Fury for Mathie (72), MacDonald for Hardy (51), Nilsen for Freer (51), Swainston for Gomez (51), Paul for To’oala (65). Not used: Craig, Thomas.

Northampton Saints: Geraghty, Reihana, Clarke, Downey, Diggin, Myler, Dickson, Tonga’uiha, Sharman, Mujati, Lawes, Day, Clark, Dowson, Wilson. Replacements: Commins for Dickson (72), Waller for Tonga’uiha (72), Long for Sharman (72), Mercey for Mujati (72), Easter for Clark (72). Not used: Sorenson, Cornwell, Tonks.

Referee: C White (RFU).

Scorers

Leeds Carnegie – Try: Paul. Cons: Jarvis. Pens: Jarvis 2.

Northampton Saints – Tries: Myler, Diggin. Cons: Myler 2. Pens: Myler 3.