How Northampton Saints shook off their start from hell

No one likes a team that drops from the heights. The speed of descent only makes it harder to put the brakes on. This year, though, was supposed to be different. There was talk of a great pre-season training atmosphere, of a new hope being kindled, but it was snuffed out in less than a quarter of an hour. 

At Twickenham on that first weekend, Saints had their plans torn up and thrown back at them by Schalk Brits and his pals from Saracens. Northampton were decimated, humiliated, embarrassed. They chased shadows, then they froze, then they all headed off in different directions and half-time couldn't come soon enough. 

Saracens, it has to be said, were utterly brilliant and Brits was close to unplayable. But I wasn’t the only one who started to worry for what was left of the season. I had all but decided that mid-table mediocrity beckoned, and probably a finishing position in the lower half rather than upper half. 

But sport tells you to always expect the unexpected. Rugby with its passion and physical nature makes a desperate man a dangerous one. It is no exaggeration to say that, today, as a Saints player and fan, you can walk tall following the team’s three most recent performances. 

The biggest change is that they have started to dictate the terms of engagement and win the contact. Their style of game means they must move forward into positions. It is a non-negotiable. Against Saracens, Saints could not keep the ball and from turnovers, they could not scramble and handle the speed of ball movement that their opponents were able to generate. Error compounded error. 

I found myself writing a line that sounds paradoxical to the world of modern rugby: "Northampton are too big". The back line that day - Harry Mallinder at 10, Luther Burrell at 12, Nafi Tuitavake at 13, Ahsee Tuala at 15 – was gargantuan. Even without George North, their backs all stand about 6 foot 3 and 17 stone. Tom Collins a wonderful exception. 

The pack is big and lumpy, as all Premiership packs now tend to be. What this meant on the first weekend was that the team just looked too clunky when the pace was lifted. Since then, the sting of defeat has put an electric shock through some players, and the performances against Leicester and Bath were superb - full of power, desire and energy. 

It is not an exaggeration to suggest that Luther Burrell has played the rugby of his life in the two home games so far. Brilliant physical carries, good handling, awesome defence - he is better than ever. Collins has been sensational on the left wing: he is great in the air, and then his feet go to work and he loves picking off the big men. Maybe it plays into his hands that he "isn't George North" and continues to catch people off guard. That will not last long in this form and his interplay with Nic Groom in and around the ruck saw him score a cracker against Tigers earlier this month.

Courtney Lawes has undergone a positional tweak, shifting to No 6, and seems to be loving it. Lawes has always been able to hurt with his defence. Now his work-rate and mobility have added an extra component. He has worked very hard on his footwork, and while he is always excellent in the line-out, his carrying is so much more effective because his hands have improved. Defenders are now unsure which option he will take. That is not something he had in his armoury a couple of years ago and the coaches deserve credit for 'up-skilling' him. 

Lawes got on the scoresheet against Bath with a clever two-phase play from a line-out. Saints moved the Bath defence where they wanted them and then some short side interplay with Collins had big defenders sucked in and Lawes strolling in. 

At 8, Teimana Harrison is a tough operator and while he is nowhere near Louis Picamoles in size, it is not always about the size of the dog in the fight. 

Last weekend against London Irish was an important shift for a Saints team that have struggled with away fixtures. Saints were unrecognisable from the team against Saracens. They produced a counter-attack try in the opening minutes that saw Ahsee Tuala set off from deep. Collins played the easy ball, getting it away from the crowd into the space and hands of men in a better position. North, with power and pace, delivered the inside ball to Burrell, who kept it in two hands, balanced and aware, allowing Michael Paterson to produce a support line that was incredible for a second row. The big lock picked off the last man to give Groom a run in. Absolutely rock star stuff. 

The second try minutes later saw Rob Horne, who could be one of the signings of the season, cut an awesome angle from a line-out peel to beat one of the best defenders in the league, Blair Cowan. An international centre / wing for Australia who is tough, runs good angles and defends like a beast, Horne had the pace, balance and strength to arc away from cover and crash over underneath the posts. 

Jamie Gibson, against his old club, was everywhere, while multiple line-out experts meant that the Saints became the first team this season to disrupt Nick Kennedy's line-out. The bonus point was wrapped up against London Irish in 30 minutes. 

But just as you started to think that it was the Saints’ turn to hand out a drubbing, they became a little too lateral and lost the direct power game that had been underpinning their fleet-of-foot moments. 

This weekend they will be at Franklins Gardens again and you would put your money on them pulverising their opponents with their physicality. It will be important for them to remember to keep the balance they have found in recent weeks and keep complementing the brawn with the quick feet and spacial awareness. 

Do that, and they can continue to develop as a good-looking rugby side that has manged to recover from a very ugly start to the season.