- Northampton claimed record win against hapless Gloucester team
- The visitors made several changes ahead of the next European final
Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson admitted to having some sympathy for Gloucester after the league leaders’ record 90-0 victory secured a home semi-final in the Gallagher Premiership.
Ninth-placed Gloucester showed what their priorities are by making 12 changes from the team that defeated Italian side Benetton in the European Challenge Cup semi-finals last week, leaving their makeshift line-up in tatters.
Ruthless Saints ran from 14 tries at a sunny Franklin’s Gardens to rack up their biggest Premiership win, the highest points total for a home team in the competition’s history and their second-largest margin of victory.
Dowson said: “I know (Gloucester head coach) George Skivington quite well and clearly there are different priorities.”
“We had to do something to guarantee a home semi-final, George is preparing for a European final and next season, so there were different motivating factors.
Northampton were relentless and ran in 14 tries against Gloucester at Franklin’s Gardens.
Ollie Sleightholme was the star for the hosts as he scored a hat-trick in a 90-0 win on Saturday.
“It’s never nice to be at the end of a 90-0 fight, but at the same time, we had a job to do.”
Ollie Sleightholme scored a hat-trick for Northampton, whose other tries came from George Furbank, Fraser Dingwall, Curtis Langdon (2), Alex Mitchell, Alex Waller, Sam Matavesi (2), Emmanuel Iyogun, Alex Moon and Tom James. Skivington said: “I knew the momentum would go against us at some point and it would be difficult to get it back, but it was extremely painful.”