Wasps' winless run continues as giant Wallaby wing dominates midland's derby

A stunning individual display from Taqele Naiyaravoro helped Northampton Saints earn a deserved bonus point victory over Midlands rivals Wasps.

The 26-year-old dazzled with a boisterous first-half performance before clinching the fourth try of the match after the break.

The result ensured Wasps fell to their third defeat of the league season and continued their worst run of form since 2013.

Northampton Saints flew out the blocks and took an early lead with a stunning team try that saw James Grayson effortlessly cross-kick to Andrew Kellaway to gather and cross the line in style.

Saints were handed a golden opportunity to capitalise when Thomas Young was yellow carded five minutes before the break.

Chris Boyd’s men took immediate advantage through Grayson’s second penalty, before Naiyaravoro spectacularly broke away to run almost the entirety of the field. The Australian passed to Fraser Dingwall and all he had to do was run under the posts for his first Saints try.

Lima Sopoaga reduced the deficit from the tee on the stroke of half-time to go in 16-3 at the break.

Following the restart Naiyaravoro had a try chalked off by referee Matthew O’Grady, but it mattered little as Piers Francis extended the lead only moments later to make their man advantage count.

When Young returned to the field he made instant amends for his earlier mistake by stretching for the whitewash to score Wasps first try.

Wallabies international Naiyaravoro’s persistence was finally rewarded as he notched up his third try of the season with a stunning catch from Grayson’s cross-kick to claim a try scoring bonus point.

The party continued when 18-year-old Ollie Sleightholme, son of Saints legend Jon, scored only moments after coming on for his Premiership debut.

Wasps’ Josh Bassett added a late consolation try on an otherwise bad day at the office for the Ricoh Arena side.

The scorers:

For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Kellaway, Dingwall, Francis, Naiyaravoro, Sleightholme
Cons: Francis
Pens: Grayson 2, Francis

For Wasps:
Tries: Young, Bassett
Cons: Sopoaga, Searle
Pens: Sopoaga

Teams:

Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 James Grayson, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Alex Moon, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ben Franks, 2 James Fish, 1 Alex Waller (captain)
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Will Davis, 18 Karl Garside, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson (captain), 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Antonio Harris, 17 Tom West, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Michael Le Bourgeois

Referee: Matthew O’Grady
Assistant Referees: Simon McConnell & Paul Dix.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.