News: Leeds Slump Sees Saints Safely Through
By Aidan Preece
May 8 2011
In the evolving history of any sporting club amateur or professional there are always those players that are fondly remembered for their stoicism, for their reserve, for their entertainment value or even for their haircuts
Aviva Premiership Round 22
Northampton Saints v Leeds Carnegie
Franklin's Gardens Saturday 7th May KO 3pm
Saints 31 Leeds 24
Beyond that there is a rarer more select few that become woven into the emotional fabric of a clubs existence, players who presence goes beyond just mere performance,
players whose souls are invested in all that they do. Bruce
Reihana is one such player; a manwho’s name will long be revered in St James
and beyond as the shining embodiment of the culture and ethos of Northampton
RFC. A high class performer, he has proven to be just as much an inspiration
away from the turf as on it, and with 20 minutes of the regular season left Bruce
took to the Gardens for one last time in the gold, black and green.
It must have been hard though for the replacement winger to watch the first twenty minutes of his sides encounter, as Jim Malinder’s mix and match team lent credence to those who argue Northampton are lacking any real strength in depth.
Leeds fighting for Premiership survival threw everything they had at Saints and opened up opportunities that let the bright sunlight of survival in to their long dark tunnel of a season. They could do no wrong, three try’s to the good and you would think that they were the side fighting with Bath for the final playoff birth.
Sadly it was a very thin veneer for the Yorkshire side who somehow, despite racking up a 21 point lead never seemed to believe it was possible and Northampton pulled up their socks and bludgeoned their way through the next 60 minutes.
Saint’s hadn’t really seen the ball when Leeds and England international Fourie rolled over the try line in front of the South stand. The try came after a passage of pressure saw Leeds take the ball through eleven or twelve phases to create a ruck right on the Saint’s try line.
It was all too frantic for the home side and they saw themselves slip even further behind after they made several attempts to be nominated for the Premiership’s most unique pass of the season award. The ball bobbled free and Barrow kicked deep in to the Saints twenty two, the ensuing lineout was turned over way too easily and Fourie and scrum half Mathie combined to put Oakley straight between the uprights. A smidge under ten minutes gone.
Northampton ventured back in to Leeds territory and after Leeds prop Gomez (a man never far from the limelight all day) was adjudged offside, Shane Geraghty secured a mildly comforting three points. Short lived comfort however as Leeds hit straight back with three of their own, Wilson pulling down a promising maul.
Mathie created further mayhem when he launched a speculative kick down field from inside his own twenty two. Foden in his role as sweeper sped forward to collect the ball as it bounced at ninety degrees beyond him and into the arms of an oncoming Leeds player. The breakout achieved Leeds pressed for the line only to find Phil Dowson with a pass. Danger averted? No! Leeds rucked the ball from Dowson’s prone position and two passes later Wackett was diving over in the corner.
It wasn’t so much a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show for Northampton as it was after his reception, banquet, evening ball and bedtime cuppa. Saint’s were missing in action and 24 - 3 down.
That was it though as far a Leeds were concerned and the scoreboard would remain dormant whilst Northampton ratcheted up the intensity. Intensity that saw Diggin and his opposite number Blackett enjoying ten minutes in the cooler after both wings got a taste for each other at the break down. Blackett’s empty wing was where Dowson made his impact after Foden and Ansbro combined to send the seven in to the corner for a simple finish.
Blood was finally pumping through the veins of the Northampton beast and a series of scrums in the final ten minutes of the first half were enough to convince referee Small that Gomez was incapable of keeping up his side of the scrum and that his replacement Denman could do no better. The resulting penalty try announcing the resumption of normal service for Saints.
Halftime couldn’t come too soon for Leeds who needed to refocus. Northampton in need of the win didn’t take any chances and started the second half with Lee Dickson replacing the erratic Commins and Calum Clark in place of try scorer Dowson. Shortly after that hooker Sharman who had, had an off day at the lineout was swapped out for the increasingly talismanic Hartley and those first twenty minutes seemed like a distant memory.
Saints pressed hard but the danger seemed to have been averted as they turned over ball and were sent back deep into their own territory. Almost on his own Geraghty picked up a pass midway between is own ten metre and twenty two and cut a perfect arc that put him outside the Leeds defence and in a position to release Ashton, whose trade mark splash put Saints within two points of the lead and left Leeds facing the final thirty minutes to hold out, all the Rugby was now being played by the home side.
Almost inevitably the visitors crumbled as Saints, through further penalties from replacement Myler, first wrestled the lead from them and then pushed ahead to complete an impressive series of 28 unanswered points. There was even time for Hartley to delight the crowd with a pass worthy of Carlos Spencer such was the confidence of the 4th placed side, although how Foden missed all of his three supporting runners is still a mystery.
So Saints secure a semi final trip to Welford Road and Leeds look to Cornwall for defence of their Premiership status. The end of the regular season and yet it seemed irresponsible to enjoy the celebrations in the bar afterwards, there is a sense from the team and supporters alike that there is unfinished business and Northampton Saints are in the thick of it.
Pictures Courtesy X-Block Dave
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Saint til I die
Thanks Aidan
David L
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
- Live wrong and preposterously
Many thanks, Sir!
