George North arrived at Franklin ‘s Gardens from West Wales one year after Chris Ashton left for North London.
The Welsh colossus reported for duty in the summer of 2013 fresh from some famous deeds for the Lions in Australia and eager to help Northampton continue to lord it over the rest as newly-crowned champions of England. They had won the title, what ‘s more, at the expense of the opponent they love to beat more than any other, Saracens – and Ashton to boot.
The previous week the Saints had won Europe ‘s secondary competition, the Challenge Cup. For North, the...