This try analysis will look at a try scored by one of the most destructive wingers in the English Premiership this season. Northampton Saints’ Australian winger Taqele Naiyaravoro has scored four tries this season, but it’s his force that means he is a player to watch. This try comes from the Saints’ game against Harlequins.
This is not a long analysis, because there isn’t much to mention about this try.
To set the scene, Northampton are on the attack, and are looking to pass the ball into the spaces where Harlequins have not got as many defenders, which is on the wing. To speed up this movement out to the wing, Northampton’s Scotland centre Rory Hutchinson (in the black square) here looks to find Naiyaravoro directly, rather than passing to him via his teammate positioned between them.
The reasons that he does this are because he doesn’t want to risk the ball being slowed down in a tackle, and Hutchinson’s teammate between himself and Naiyaravoro has a Harlequins player marking him, likely to make the tackle if that player gets hold of the ball. However, because that defender has come inside to mark this Northampton player, Naiyaravoro has been given a virtually free passage through to the try line, as the black arrow shows.
When Naiyaravoro does get the ball, he has to beat some defenders, but he does manage to force his way through. This try was quite a simple one to score, but what we have shown is the reasons why the ball went straight to the star winger from Hutchinson, and why he has been such a threat from these areas this season.
