Not a bad way for the Saints to go marching into a home semi-final. That will be held here on Friday against neighbours and dear old friends Leicester. They have not had the best of things against the Tigers in recent times, but they will be feeling good about themselves after this, their biggest Premiership win – 74 points, 11 tries in a romp that looked barely half-throttle at times.
In the light of the final scoreline, it may cause some amusement to reveal that Wasps were actually leading 13-0 after 15 minutes, with Northampton wandering around the place looking less than quarter-throttle. So, to qualify the above stats, those record-breaking 74 points were unanswered and registered in 60 minutes. It was a weird old game.
As final weekends go, it was a weird one for a few teams, who had a bit to play for but not much. Northampton were one of those, but realistically they just needed a point to confirm that home semi-final, enjoying a four-point lead over Leicester before the game kicked off and the small matter of an 85-point cushion on points difference. That cushion is even fluffier now.
The crucial point was registered just before half-time, when Luther Burrell appeared on Mike Haywood's shoulder for Northampton's fourth try. But no matter how resounding the win – and the Premiership has seen only a handful bigger than this – it is not going to count for much on Friday. It sounds ridiculous to say, but Northampton were pretty sloppy for large parts. Wasps had nothing to play for and fielded a second team in advance of their two-leg European play-off against Stade Français over the next fortnight. Had that not been the case Northampton might even have found themselves in some difficulty.
Indeed, they did find themselves in some difficulty. "My thoughts were: 'What's the score at Leicester?'" said Jim Mallinder of his state of mind after 20 minutes.
Northampton were also not fielding quite their strongest side, reflecting that they were caught between two big games. They looked flat and careless: two lazy kicks, one from Lee Dickson, one from Ben Foden, were charged down for tries by Charlie Davies and Tom Varndell. Wasps were dominating and worth that early lead.
But it is almost worse for an underdog to score an early try. Two it would appear is catastrophic. Keep the game tight for 50 minutes, then score your tries is the best policy. As it was, their early tries served only to wake Northampton up.
George North cut inside for the first, put away by the excellent James Wilson, then Phil Dowson finished off a lineout-and-drive, before Foden's smart counterattack sent Stephen Myler away. Three tries in eight minutes and, bang, Wasps were on the canvas. They struggled back to their feet for the last 10 minutes of the first half, before Burrell's score sat them down again. Thereafter, the second half became a gruesome exercise in dummy-pummelling.
It was 27-13 at the break, then 34-13 two minutes into the second half, when Northampton's dominant scrum marched Wasps back over their line. That was the cue for Alex Corbisiero to enter after a long lay-off. His first scrum, another five-metre affair, did not go so well, Wasps winning it. No matter, Nathan Hughes spilt the ball, and Foden scored. His second was much better, and Northampton scored from the penalty they sent to the corner – 48-13 on the hour.
That was ugly enough, but the scorers had plenty more work to do. Four tries followed in the last quarter for that final humiliation on the scoreboard. If nothing else, Wasps should be smarting when Stade Français visit Adams Park next Sunday.
Northampton, on the other hand, need to make sure they are not disarmed by those dazzling statistics at the end. There should be little chance of that. It is Leicester next up, after all.
