The salary cap was supposed to have done away with days like this. If the Premiership is proud of nothing else, it is the competitiveness of its league and the narrowness of its average winning margin. That average will be just a little wider now.
This was a throwback to the bad old days around the turn of the millennium when sugar-daddied dream teams smashed West Hartlepool and the like. Here's a scoreline for the nostalgic, from the last weekend of the season in 1999: Bedford 12 Richmond 106. We weren't quite in that territory here, but this is the biggest Premiership win since Leicester beat Newcastle 83-10 in 2005.
"We're properly embarrassed by that performance," said Dai Young, Wasps' director of rugby. "Or I am, anyway. We didn't have any loan players out there, this was not an LV Cup team. That was our first-team squad, and we just weren't good enough. The lack of fight surprised me. We can lose to better teams, but to go out with a whimper is unacceptable."
The last weekend of the regular season is prone to anomalous results such as this – indeed the last couple of weekends of this season's Premiership have seen a variety of extraordinary scorelines. Wasps do have a bit of history here themselves. In 2004, they lost 48-17 at home to Leicester on the final weekend and by the end of the same month were crowned champions. The year after that they lost 45-10 at Leicester, only to become champions again by beating the same team 39-14 in the Premiership final two weeks later.
"This win gives us confidence," said Jim Mallinder, Northampton's director of rugby, "but we won't read too much into it. Wasps sent over a weak side with minds on next week. We're not daft enough to think otherwise."
Wasps may have fielded a side of first-team squad players, but it was far from their strongest lineup. Next weekend they take on Stade Français in the first of two legs to determine the last qualifier for next season's new European competition. Young insisted that only three of his players were actually being rested here, explaining that most of the other absentees were carrying knocks that might have threatened their participation for the two crucial games ahead. Wasps were assured of seventh and couldn't make sixth, so there was nothing for them to play for here. Not that Young was buying that as an excuse. "After the first 35 minutes Northampton had very little to play for as well, didn't they?" he said. "With that fourth try, their objective had been achieved, but they kept on playing and we stopped. We've got to look at the mindsets. Next week will take care of itself, but this is going to take a good few days for me to get over. I don't know about the players."
The reason Northampton's business was wrapped up by half-time was that they had registered the try-scoring bonus point that secured them a home semi-final, on Friday against Leicester – a repeat of last year's ill-tempered Premiership final. Dylan Hartley, the man who was the centre of attention that day, is likely to be fit for Friday, but will probably start from the bench. Alex Corbisiero is also in contention, having enjoyed half an hour on his comeback from injury.
The truth is, though, that Northampton will need to be better than this if they want to make a second consecutive final. There's not much arguing with 11 tries and 74 points, but they were, believe it or not, trailing 13-0 after 20 minutes and looking a rabble. What followed was more of a duck shoot than a ruthless display by champions in waiting. But they know that. As for Wasps, to say they need to be better doesn't tell the half of it.
Northampton: Foden; K Pisi, Wilson, Burrell (Stephenson, 47), North; Myler (G Pisi, 53), Dickson (Fotuali'i, 70); A Waller (Corbisiero, 53), Haywood (Britton, 62), Ma'afu (Mercey, ht), Craig, Day (Manoa, 74), Clark, Dowson (capt), Dickinson (Wood, 70).
Tries North 2, Dowson 2, Myler, Burrell, Dickson 2, Foden, K Pisi, Stephenson. Cons Myler 3, Wilson 5. Pen Myler.
Wasps: T Bell (Goode, 23); Short, C Bell (capt), Hayter (Daly, 65), Varndell; Carlisle, Davies (Sheehan, 55); McIntyre (Reeves, 55), Lindsay (Festuccia, 68), Vea (Swainston, 55), Cannon (Launchbury, 65), Palmer, Jackson, Thompson, Hughes (Johnson, 69).
Tries Davies, Varndell Pen Carlisle
Sin-bin: Hughes 35, C Bell 74.
Referee: Luke Pearce. Att: 13,459.
