By Paul Smith 
Coventry’s hopes of making an appearance in the last eight of the Premiership Rugby Cup were dealt a blow by a 50-23 defeat at the hands of English champions Northampton.
Saints now need only one point from next weekend’s round six clash with Nottingham to finish as winners of pool B while Cov must beat Leicester and hope results elsewhere position them as one of the three highest-ranked pool stage runners-up.
In front of an 8,000-plus Franklin’s Gardens crowd, Josh Kemeny, Angus Scott-Young and Tom Lockett claimed first-half tries for the Premiership outfit to which Cov responded through Jimmy Martin.
Trailing 19-13 at the break, David Opoku’s powerful finish kept Cov in contention but by then Tom Seabrook had claimed Saints’ bonus point score.
And the hosts went on to add further touchdowns through Billy Pasco, Will Glister and replacement Tom West before Tom Hitchcock had the last word for the visitors.
Northampton missed three good chances before they drove Kemeny over from close range for a try that George Makepeace-Cubitt, who finished with 15 points, converted.
Tommy Mathews put Cov on the board from the kicking tee only for Aussie back-rower Scott-Young to finish off a move launched by Tom James’ quick tap.
Cov’s opening score came straight from the training ground with decoy runners creating space for Martin to go under the posts from a scrum on the home 22.
However, Lockett then got on Scott-Young’s shoulder and dragged two defenders over the line to claim Saints’ third score.
Home lock Ed Prowse was sent to the sin bin for illegally stopping a quick tap and Mathews’ resulting 35-metre penalty sent the visitors into the break within one score range.
However, the home side defied their numerical superiority to send Seabrook to the corner after they turned possession over at a Coventry scrum.
Opoku’s outstanding finish lifted Cov’s hopes only for referee Anthony Woodthorpe to quickly show Obi Nkwocha a yellow card for a high tackle.
And after Makepeace-Cubitt kicked the penalty Pasco got on the shoulder of prop Tarek Haffar to claim their fifth try at the end of a 75-metre kick chase.
Northampton full-back Ramm then left Glister with a simple finish before the hosts drove replacement prop West over from a tap-and-go five-metre penalty.
Hitchcock’s diagonal finish at the end of a long spell of continuity gave Cov hopes of salvaging a bonus point but Saints held firm to ensure they hold the aces ahead of next weekend’s final round of pool stage action.
Line-Ups:
Northampton:
Ramm; Glister (Witheat 67), Pasco, Savala, Seabrook; Makepeace-Cubitt, James (Weimann 67); Haffar (West 59), Wright, Green (Nonleh 69); Prowse (Mapu 63), Lockett (Mayanavanua 53); Kemeny (Benson 40), Scott-Young, Brown
Replacements: Walker
Coventry: Hutler (Robson 45); Opoku, Tiueti, Hitchcock, Martin; Mathews, Maunder (Barton 58); Trinder (Warren 63), Poole (Biggs 21), Salt (Nairau 45); Nkwocha (Mannion 65), Tyas; Ball, Hinkley (Anstey 60), Nayalo (Okeke 48)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Half-Time: Northampton 19-13 Coventry Rugby
Attendance: 8755
Scorers:
Northampton:
Tries: Kemeny (16), Scott-Young (30), Lockett (36), Seabrook (44), Pasco (58), Glister (65), West (69)
Conversions: Makepeace-Cubitt (16) (30) (44) (58) (65) (69)
Penalties: Makepeace-Cubitt (53)
Coventry:
Tries: Martin (33), Opoku (50), Hitchcock (72)
Conversions: Mathews (33)
Penalties: Mathews (26) 39)
