Neil Best chose to play for the Northampton on Saturday rather than Ireland 'A' the night before, according to Jim Mallinder..
Returning flanker "owed it to Saints" to play
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has revealed that flanker Neil Best chose to play for the Saints on Saturday rather than Ireland 'A' the night before.
Best, who recently returned from an 18-week suspension for eye gouging, elected to play for Northampton as they came from behind to beat Saracens 20-15 at Franklin's Gardens.
Ireland 'A' beat Scotland on Friday night.
"It was his choice," Mallinder said. "He spoke to the Ireland management and said he had been off for an awful long time and felt he owed it to Saints to play for us.
"They've gone along with it and I'd like to think they'll not dismiss him from their thoughts, and if he's playing well for Saints they'll still consider him for international recognition."
Summing up the match, Mallinder admitted: "Saracens got the better of us in the first half, put us under a lot of pressure and defensively we had to work really hard.
"Then in the second half we got on the front foot and played some good rugby."
Captain Bruce Reihana's only try of the game and fly-half Stephen Myler's five penalties enabled Northampton to continue an unbeaten home run stretching back to March 2007.
Mallinder said of Myler: "He's a good goal-kicker and in tight games like that you need somebody who's going to be consistently knocking over the penalties and, apart from his goal-kicking, he had a really good game."
Jones - 'Impossible to win'
But Northampton's penalties incurred the wrath of Eddie Jones, the Saracens director of rugby who will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
"It was impossible to win," he said. "Nine penalties to two in the second half."
He nevertheless declined to criticise referee Greg Garner, in charge of his first Premiership match, claiming: "It's the crowd. I want to congratulate the crowd, I think they were fantastic. They are 13,000 of the best referees in the competition."
However, Jones did question the obstruction decision which denied his young full-back Alex Goode a first-half try.
"Why it was pulled up I'll never know," he said.
"Rugby's a great game because the referee's so influential and the crowd can be so influential.
"You have to be that much better to win here and we weren't that much better.
"How we ever get penalised in the scrum against them when they can't even hold their scrum up...it's a joke.
"There needs to be some control in the way the game's officiated."
