Northampton Saints
News: Cockers Can't Crow today
By Howlin'
May 18 2014
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, ooooooh Yeeees, wooohoooo, get in there, at last, fantastic, wooohoo, hallelujah, oh yes, yes. YEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!
Aviva Premiership Semi-Final
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers
Friday 16th May 2014, KO 7:45 p.m.
Franklin's Gardens
Referee J.P.Doyle
Score: SAINTS 21 TIGERS 20
Well I’m tempted to leave it there. What else is there to say after one of THE glory nights at Franklins Gardens? In years to come many will remember that they were there on the night Jim Mallinder’s Saints removed a very large monkey from their shoulders, and I don’t mean Cockers. What a night, what a game. Remembering the roar that went up when Tom Wood score his late late try to finally nail our noisy neighbours and end their run of nine consecutive premiership finals still sends a chill up my spine.
The atmosphere was crackling well before kick off and the crowd did themselves proud all through a first half, that although balanced in possession and territory just simply refused to go Saints way where it mattered….. on the scoreboard. Tigers yielded seven penalties and Saints six as play ebbed and flowed. Myler kicked two for Northampton whilst Flood opened the scoring with one for Tigers , but more importantly it was Leicester who were clinical in attack scoring from both of their only real opportunities through Tuilagi and then a snipe by Ben Youngs. The fact Youngs effort came after a dubious penalty saw an obviously crooked throw go unnoticed by the officials added to the creeping feeling that this was yet again going to be a similar experience against our auld foe. But both the supporters and the squad are made of sterner stuff these days and you could sense that neither were prepared to give up hope.
There were enough bright moments in the first half from a Saints perspective; Doyle seemingly more prepared to penalise the stripey ones than someone who shall remain nameless, even to hand out a yellow card to Goneva for kicking the ball from Dowson’s hands. Dickinson’s shuddering tackle on Munipola, Kahn’s blindside break that so nearly gave us the first try but for Tait’s ability to turn and swerve 360 degrees in an instant. Then there was a disallowed try which could oh so easily have been given, the brilliant kick chase and leaping catch from North and Foden and Collins kicks ahead that they both collected themselves to make inroads into the ferocious Leicester defence.
But at half time the scoreboard did not lie. It was 17-6 to those pesky Tigers and apparently the stats say that Leicester just simply don’t lose when they are ahead at half time.
But at half time the scoreboard did not lie. It was 17-6 to those pesky Tigers and apparently the stats say that Leicester just simply don’t lose when they are ahead at half time.
But this was now time for Saints to rewrite the stats. The second half was almost a complete turnaround. The penalty count was nine against Tigers to four against Saints. Quite remarkable that the first of these was given to Leicester on 61 mins. as Saints were poised to score under the posts. It was Saints half as Leicester only had possession in Northampton territory twice in the entire 40 mins. Being Leicester they score their only points of the half on the second foray with a penalty given against Tom Wood at the lineout (now captain as Dowson had left the field earlier to be replaced by Calum Clark. But that was to be their only score in the second period.
The only question in the second half was whether Saints could break the Tigers down. Their obdurate defence, as has been so often the case, held out by fair means and foul. There were two more yellow cards for the stripey ones, but there could have been more as Youngs, Goneva twice, Crane and Bowden all escaped punishment by one means or another. Mafu however, saw red for Saints in more ways than one as he knocked Tom Youngs to the floor. The replay of this was roundly cheered by the Franklins faithful despite the fact that he will now probably miss both finals and of course left the team short for the remainder of the match. Perhaps it’s something to do with Youngs history perhaps its just that he never stops whinging to the referee or perhaps its because he escaped with just a yellow for the several girly slaps to Mafu’s face before the big islander decided to deck him. Personally I think front rows should be allowed to punch each other out occasionally; but as in most of his decisions Mr Doyle followed the laws of the game with sympathetic interpretation.
The half wore on and it looked as if Tigers would do what Tigers do. But this squad and this crowd of supporters didn’t give up. When Dicko came on for Khan the attacks intensified and the crowd got louder. Still it took until the 64th minute for George North to burst through and send the crowd into a frenzy,
but the conversion left Saints still one point behind. This was extended to four by the Williams penalty until that orgasmic moment when Tom Wood pirouetted over the line to seal victory.
We still had a minute or so to sweat it out as Myler missed the conversion leaving just a point between the sides but for once the restart was safely gathered and the remaining seconds seen out without incident. The crowd counted down five, four, three, two, one, Myler ran and kicked into touch, the whistle blew and Franklins Gardens erupted.
Man of the match Tom Wood said that the match was as intense as any he has played in and this is a man who has played for England against the All Blacks. Craig Doyle couldn’t stop grinning the following day remembering the match and the volume of support. I haven’t stopped grinning whilst writing this report or whilst watching the recording of the match and the reaction of the crowd and the squad and especially big Jim; how can you ever doubt what it means to the man. That was a huge, huge victory for Saints. Now all they have to do is do it again twice more and not only will we have our second Amlin trophy but we will have finally removed the biggest monkey of all; and I’m still not talking about Cockers.
Saints
15 Ben Foden
14 Tom Collins
13 George Pisi
12 Luther Burrell
11 George North
10 Stephen Myler
9 Kahn Fotuali'i
1 Alex Waller
2 Mike Haywood
3 Salesi Ma'afu
4 Samu Manoa
5 Courtney Lawes
6 Tom Wood
7 Phil Dowson
8 Sam Dickinson
Replacements
16 Ross McMillan
17 Alex Corbisiero
18 Tom Mercey
19 Christian Day
20 Calum Clark
21 Lee Dickson
22 James Wilson
23 Tom Stephenson
Tigers
15 Mathew Tait
14 Niall Morris
13 Manu Tuilagi
12 Dan Bowden
11 Niki Goneva
10 Toby Flood
9 Ben Youngs
1 Marcos Ayerza
2 Tom Youngs
3 Logovi'i Mulipola
4 LLouis Deacon
5 Ed Slater
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Julian Salvi
8 Jordan Crane
Replacements
16 Neil Briggs
17 Tom Bristow
18 Fraser Balmain
19 Graham Kitchener
20 Steve Mafi
21 David Mele
22 Owen Williams
23 Adam Thompstone
Jim Says
The Man of the Match
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David L
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
- Live wrong and preposterously
Not a match that will be forgotten anytime soon!
"Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it."
-- Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161-180 A.D.
Top of the League 2014-2015 Season
And also he doesn't now look a bit of a Burke from going mental after scoring and losing the game...
Per Ardua Ad Astra
I too was shouting at not straight throw ins and as you may imagine it wasn't Tigers throw in when I did.
Cracking game of rugby.
"Yesss...." with as many s's and !'s as you like is almost all thats needed, but you went one step better. very well done.
And the sun is still shining...
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Once a scrum half .... always a scrum half
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