Northampton Saints player ratings: Henry Pollock ‘targeted’ by Saracens as Lions bolter suffers first ‘setback’ but bench comes to the rescue

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Following a last-gasp 28-24 victory over Saracens in the Premiership clash at Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Northampton Saints.

15 James Ramm: One of those to go off in what proved to be an injury nightmare for the Saints just before the Champions Cup final. There were a few decent carries before that, but they will sweat on his lower leg issue. 5

14 Tommy Freeman: Very quiet early on before the in-form wing managed to get some involvements, although his impact was limited. Freeman was excellent later on, though, and really showed his class in the comeback. 7

13 Fraser Dingwall (c): Like most of his team-mates, the skipper had a bad first 45 minutes, but some deft touches afterwards helped get them on the front foot. 6

12 Rory Hutchinson: A couple of nice touches early on, but Hutchinson struggled to breach a sturdy Saracens defence. However, Hutchinson moved to fly-half and was much better. 6

Saints’ best back

11 Tom Litchfield: Northampton’s best starting back as the abrasive wing carried hard all day and made a few dents. Centre is probably his best position, but Litchfield continues to do a good job out wide. 7

13 Fraser Dingwall (c): Like most of his team-mates, the skipper had a bad first 45 minutes, but some deft touches afterwards helped get them on the front foot. 6

12 Rory Hutchinson: A couple of nice touches early on, but Hutchinson struggled to breach a sturdy Saracens defence. However, Hutchinson moved to fly-half and was much better. 6

Saints’ best back

10 Fin Smith: The England star’s grubber through for Josh Kemeny’s score was the only real highlight from his performance as he was taken off to be protected for next week. 5

9 Alex Mitchell: Sarries made a mess of the Saints’ breakdown all day and, as a result, Mitchell struggled to cope. The visitors did an excellent job of slowing down the hosts’ ball and stopping the England scrum-half from being a threat. 5

8 Henry Pollock: The youngster’s first real setback in his brief career so far as he struggled to get into the game. Saracens clearly targeted him, and a big hit from Tom Willis and Ben Earl early on gave the visitors energy. 5

7 Josh Kemeny: Outstanding once again from the flanker, who was one of the few Saints to step up when they were struggling. A tireless display. 8

Injury concerns

6 Alex Coles: We hope his injury is not too bad as Coles, like Kemeny, led the comeback. Despite missing a try-scoring chance when dropping the ball over the line, the back five forward was excellent before hobbling off late on. 8

5 Tom Lockett: Solid in the set-piece but physically failed to get on top of his opposition pack. Lockett is a fine talent and toiled away, but it was not his day. 5

4 Temo Mayanavanua: Made a few decent carries but the Sarries starters got the better of that Northampton lock pairing. 5

3 Trevor Davison: An underrated tighthead, who has been one of the Saints’ best signings, but he had a bit of a shocker on Saturday. Singled out by Luke Pearce for the scrum issues and dropped the ball at a key time. 4

2 Curtis Langdon: Another Saints star to get injured by taking a stinger to the shoulder. Hopefully, Langdon will be fine for the Champions Cup final but it is only a week away. 5

1 Emmanuel Iyogun: Busy in the loose but there were problems at the scrum for the Saints, who failed to get on top in too many facets in the opening 50 minutes. 5

Replacements: It didn’t look the strongest bench on paper but they certainly made their presence felt. Tarek Haffar was one of the more experienced names to come on and he scored a brace, including the winning try, but the likes of Jake Garside and Jonny Weimann added real energy in the second period. 9