London Irish 28 Northampton Saints 26: Tom Vickers' review and player ratings

If you are a supporter who thinks that Saints should go all out to win every competition they are in, you will have been frustrated to see them surrender 19-0 and 26-7 leads to lose out.

But if you are a supporter who feels the competition is all about development, you are unlikely to be feeling too down today.

The reality of it is, that although Saints would like to breeze their way through each game, they have bigger fish to fry, at home and abroad.

And they also desperately need to get minutes into men, and boys, who they simply can't in the Gallagher Premiership and Champions Cup.

That is why they made three changes when cruising at 19-0 at half-time against Irish, replacing three battle-hardened players with three prodigious talents.

Further alterations continued as they second half unfolded, with the average age of the team on the pitch getting ever younger.

There was even an appearance for the youngest ever Saint, who is now scrum-half Archie McParland.

It was a big night for him, and for so many others.

No, it didn't end the way they wanted. In fact, it was more of a nightmare than a dream denouement as Saints lost the ball in the final few seconds.

Irish won a series of penalties and eventually pounced to push referee Dan Jones to award them a penalty try that sparked wild scenes of celebration.

Irish had come back from the dead, having offered so little against a strong Saints side during the first period.

But they took advantage of players like David Ribbans and Sam Graham being withdrawn at the break, and mounted an impressive response.

Saints still should have won the game, make no mistake.

They were 26-14 up with little more than five minutes to go, and their game management towards the end was far from good.

But if it really is true that young players learn more from defeats than victories, then they will have been given a valuable lesson here.

It must also be pointed out that Saints had to put square pegs in round holes, notably at loosehead as tighthead Oisin Heffenan put in a shift during the second half.

Marty Mulhall had to be taken off as he may be needed as a replacement in the Premiership game at Harlequins on Sunday.

So, you see, judging this result too harshly really doesn't work.

Why it perhaps did attract such criticism is because of what happened last weekend, when Saints lost a 21-10 lead, shipping 31 unanswered points to Leicester Tigers in a 41-21 defeat.

That result coupled with this one made it feel like a pattern is forming, that Saints are struggling with discipline and can't close out games.

But these two matches, and the two teams that played in them, were entirely separate, and they should not be used as a stick with which to beat each other.

The truth is that more important matches lie ahead, matches that Saints actually should be judged on.

They will certainly not have it easy against the likes of Harlequins and Wasps in the weeks to come.

And that means that the men who take to the field will have to show huge resilience.

They showed it last season, and there is no reason why they can't show it again.

But there is no doubt that the entire squad will be keen to put the past week behind them as quickly as possible.

How they rated...

JAMES RAMM - CHRON STAR MAN

Looked confident in everything he did, and he finished impressively on two occasions, showing balance for his first try and power for his second... 7

COURTNALL SKOSAN

Saw one effort chalked off for a forward pass in the build-up and looked to have won the game for Saints late on with an important gather in the air, but it wasn't to be... 6

TOM LITCHFIELD

Kept fighting to the end for his team, making one eye-catching run, but Irish eventually managed to deal with him... 6

JOEL MATAVESI

A powerful presence in attack and defence, the centre constantly put his body on the line in the bid to make things happen... 6.5

OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME

Things just didn't quite fall for him in the first half as he threatened Irish with little reward. Came off at the break... 6

JAMES GRAYSON

Looked assured throughout, steering his side around the field well, also refusing to shy away from the physical battle... 7

CALLUM BRALEY

A really steady showing from the skipper as he did little wrong on the night, playing his part in a strong first-half performance... 7

MARTY MULHALL

A decent enough debut for the loanee as he did little wrong before coming off when Saints were leading during the second half... 6

ROBBIE SMITH

Thundered into contact at every opportunity and was a really strong presence at times, but was sin-binned during the second half... 6

EHREN PAINTER

A good shift on his return to action as he completed more than 60 minutes. Was clearly tiring, but never gave up... 6.5

BRANDON NANSEN

Tried to push Irish back with his trademark physicality but they managed to stand up to the threat better as the game went on... 6.5

DAVID RIBBANS

Looked like he'd never been away as he ruled the skies and looked strong in open play, also showing his delight when Saints turned over a London Irish lineout... 7

KAYDE SYLVESTER

Tried to trouble Irish at lineout time and did what he could to make his power count in contact... 6.5

AARON HINKLEY

Looked really hungry for action, trying to get stuck in at every opportunity, carrying with force and eagerly getting involved at the breakdown... 7

SAM GRAHAM

A really strong showing during a first half in which Saints dominated. The No.8 refused to be stopped on a couple of occasions, including when he opened the scoring... 7

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

TOM LOCKETT (for Ribbans 40)

Was due to start but swapped places with David Ribbans before roles were reversed at the break. Doesn't lack in power and looked for work as much as he could... 6

HENRY POLLOCK (for Graham 40)

This young man looks like he absolutely loves the breakdown. He did everything he could to unnerve Irish and made one superb saving tackle... 6.5

TOBY THAME (for Sleightholme 40)

A valuable experience for the youngster, who seems to have a decent amount of physicality for someone so young... 6

OISIN HEFFERNAN (for Mulhall 47)

The tighthead had to come on at loosehead due to a shortage for Saints in that area, and he did what he could to hold his own... 6