Derick Hougaard of Saracens sank Northampton with a 24-point man-of-the-match performance that hauled his team into the top half of the Aviva Premiership table yesterday as they triumphed 24-17.
Despite an impressive start Northampton's indiscipline proved costly at Vicarage Road as referee David Pearson punished them with a series of penalties and Hougaard, the former Springbok fly-half, filled his boots with seven penalties and a drop goal.
Four penalties from the boot of Shane Geraghty and a try from wing Paul Diggin were rare highs on a disappointing day for Saints, who missed out on the chance to go back to the top of the table, with their cause not being helped by both Calum Clark and Geragthy being sin-binned by Pearson. Brendan Venter, the Saracens rugby director, believed that his side's research of Pearson, and how he officiated games, had given them an advantage.
"We had trouble in the scrum at first, but the pack turned it for us against a very strong Northampton pack who have destroyed everyone ahead of them so far," he said. "We studied Dave Pearson's games so far and he does the same in every game, fair penalty awards and spread across the game. He is consistent and very, very impressive. "And never underestimate how important it is for us to have a fit and available Steve Borthwick in the team in terms of both his tactical brain and leadership qualities."
While Saracens were full of praise for the officiating, Jim Mallinder, the Northampton rugby director, left Watford with a very different opinion of Pearson. He said: "We think Dave Pearson had a disappointing game. When you lose you tend to look at the referee more critically, but we'll look closely at the video before saying anything further. "I do believe the two sin-binnings were harsh. Calum Clark just went in to make a tackle and Shane Geraghty also made a tackle and tried to roll away quickly. A penalty, yes, but hardly a yellow card. These sin-binnings are very important.
"But you need to control the ball to control the game and we didn't during the middle of the game." The visitors had looked dominant in the early phases of the season, but looked out of sorts on a greasy pitch in Watford. Hougaard led from the front immediately and alleviated any pressure that was thrown at his side, despite having a lucky escape when an attempted clearance kick was charged down and almost converted.
The defeat sees Saints leapfrogged at the top of the table by London Irish, who impressed with a dominant 46-12 win over Newcastle Falcons on Saturday. * Press Association
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of officials:
Referees: Chris Broad, David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Ranjan Madugalle and Richie Richardson.
Umpires: Aleem Dar, Kumara Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Ian Gould, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nigel Llong, Bruce Oxenford, Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Sundaram Ravi, Paul Reiffel, Rod Tucker, Michael Gough, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
