Dallaglio shows Saints pack just what they lack

Northampton 13 - 21 Wasps

Lawrence Dallaglio may have spent most of the week fighting a virus but it was Northampton's supporters, making up a record crowd in the modern era, who found the colour draining from their cheeks when the former England captain came on to the pitch six minutes after the interval.

A replacements bench including Dallaglio and Simon Shaw, a substitute at the same time, galvanised the visitors' pack and helped Wasps, playing with the certainty of champions, survive a torrid second half to be within three points of Sale at the top of the Premiership.

Northampton's extended south stand meant that 13,585 were shoehorned into Franklin's Gardens but the biggest cheer of the day was in the bars an hour after the this game had ended as Ben Cohen scored England's first try at Twickenham. There was a quiet air of resignation at the end of the lunchtime match. It was not that Northampton played badly - the visitors' coach Shaun Edwards said the Saints had played more attacking rugby than any of Wasps' opponents, including Toulouse, this season - but the East Midlanders lack a forward totem like Dallaglio or Shaw.

Not since the retirement of Tim Rodber or Pat Lam have Northampton had a hard man in the pack to rally around. The introduction of Matt Lord at the interval meant that seven of their side were New Zealanders but Northampton haven't quite discovered the winning mentality of the All Blacks this autumn.

Wasps, despite international call-ups, have a strength in depth that Northampton envy. Edwards heaped praise on the little-lauded wing Rob Hoadley, whose bloody-minded defensive play summed up the Wasps effort. Hoadley's last-minute try after he robbed Carlos Spencer of the ball as the fly-half attempted to attack from his own 22 also robbed Northampton of a bonus point. It was not Saints' day, with another of those Kiwis, Chris Budgen, seeing his claims for a try on the hour ruled out. Inevitably it was Hoadley who helped prevent the prop from grounding the ball in the corner.

With Spencer in their side Northampton are always in with a fighting chance and the fly-half's 40-metre drop-goal on the run and out of the blue in the first half was something to behold, but there was perhaps an inevitability to the result. Ian McGeechan, Wasps' director of rugby, was returning to the club that he helped build into European champions.

Northampton: Reihana (capt); Diggin (Vilk, 45), Clarke, Quinlan, Rudd (Davies, 55); Spencer, Robinson (Howard, 77); Budgen (Harbut, 68), Richmond (Hartley, 72), Barnard, Damien Browne, Gerard (Lord, h-t), Fox, Harding, Daniel Browne (Lewitt, 70).

Try: Davies. Con: Reihana. Pen: Reihana. Drop-goal: Reihana.

Wasps: Voyce; Sackey, Erinle (Baxter, 72), Abbott, Hoadley; King, Reddin (Fury, 80); Payne, Ward (Gotting, 66), Bracken (McKenzie, 46), Skivington, Birkett (Shaw, 46), Hart (capt), Rees, Lock (Dallaglio, 46).

Tries: Reddin, Hoadley. Con: King. Pens: King 3.

Sin-bin: Hoadley.

Referee: R Debney (Leicestershire). Attendance: 13,585.