Jim Mallinder praises his team's defence
Northampton Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder has praised the side's defence after the 20-16 victory over Harlequins on Saturday.
Northampton has started the Premiership season well with two wins from the first two matches. A well fought victory at home against Leicester was followed up with the club's first win away at Harlequins
for six years.
Mallinder says the strength and depth of the Northampton defence is the factor that has allowed the side to secure two victories. He has asked for more of the same as the side prepares to take on Bath
this weekend.
Mallinder said: "It wasn't a typical Northampton performance in terms of our attacking game [against Harlequins]. But it was good to get a breakaway try, good to score to get back in front at the end of
the game but, mainly, you can put the win down to a lot of good defence."
There are many positive parts to Northampton's defensive play at the moment. However, the club cannot rely on the resilience of defence to win matches all season.
Positive elements
Northampton has shown in the first two Premiership games of the season that the side is very well organised. The defence has let the opposition have the ball in harmless areas before eventually winning
back possession with penalties and turn overs.
There has been plenty of versatility from the club's defensive players. Someone fills in when another player is out of position after going up the pitch in an attack. This means the gaps are quickly filled
in and the defence limits the number of scoring opportunities for the opposition.
Tactically the team has got everything right. The bigger and stronger players have played in the heart of the defence, which has allowed the quicker defenders to break away down the wings.
Can't always rely on defence
The club cannot always rely on the defence to win matches. Northampton struggled to get into the opposition half during the last 10 minutes of the match with Harlequins, which is dangerous.
The club has invited pressure onto the defence by attacking early in games and then protecting a lead. As the games with Leicester and Harlequins went on, more and more pressured was placed onto all of
Northampton's defensive players. Sooner or later the defence will crumble and Northampton will lose a game.
There are teams in the Premiership that love the challenge of trying to break down a defence. The club cannot rely on defence in the next game against Bath because Bath has been the most attacking side
in the Premiership so far this season.
Mallinder added: "To win two out of two at the start of the season is what you are after but we have Bath at home next week and then we go away to Saracens so it's a difficult start."
Betting advice
Northampton is one of the clubs tipped to be in the top four by the end of the season. It's clear the club's defence is very solid at the moment and very difficult to break down.
Bet in play and back the team to win any game when the side gets a mid-range lead. The defence has shown that Northampton can sustain extended spells of pressure from good attacking players in the opposition.
If you're looking for players to back then focus in the kicker in the Northampton team. There's no point in backing a single player to run away with a game and score a few tries. This is because it's clear
Northampton is going to play most games this season with a defensive but efficient style.
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