Quantcast
Channel: Leicester Mercury Latest Stories Feed
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

One of the best finals – verdict on Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints clash

0
0

A wonderful game on a memorable occasion soured by bitter controversy.

Tigers and director of rugby Richard Cockerill can enjoy their summer after ending a run of two consecutive defeats in Twickenham finals.

Departing duo Geordan Murphy and Martin Castrogiovanni lifted a 10th English title for Tigers on their ninth consecutive appearance in the final.

A truly incredible achievement.

The faces of the players at the final whistle were a mixture of relief and utter joy – and a huge following of fans must have felt the same way.

This was the sweetest of victories in a game against their local rivals they simply could not afford to lose. But, boy, there was some drama along the way.

Seven tries lit up a breath-taking rollercoaster ride of a contest with punch and counter-punch making for a great occasion.

But the red card given by referee Wayne Barnes to Saints' skipper Dylan Hartley on the stroke of half-time was the talking point of the game.

It dominated both club's press conferences and barely a player got by any post-match interview without being asked for his opinion on it.

Just two minutes after receiving a stern talking to by Barnes for his behaviour, Hartley was dismissed for calling the official a "cheat", prefixed by a swear word.

The hooker claimed later that he was aiming his abuse at opposite number Tom Youngs after Leicester had just won a penalty in the scrum.

But video evidence showed him look in Barnes' direction as he said it. Youngs, meanwhile, was flat on the floor out of shot.

It left Saints with 14 men for the second half and a mountain to climb.

The decision played a part in Northampton's defeat. But Tigers were leading 16-5 at half-time anyway and that would have been a big lead to drag back with 15 men.

The real tragedy of the saga was that it took attention away from one of the best finals ever witnessed at HQ.

It fizzed with passion, flowed at breakneck speed and was riddled with incident, big hits and marvellous tries.

This was two sides who were intent on playing expansive, attractive rugby and they put on a tremendous show for a full house.

Tigers were also without their skipper for most of the match after he left with concussion on 23 minutes following a big hit from Courtney Lawes.

The legality of the hit was borderline. A penalty? Probably. A yellow card? Probably not. Flood was completely knocked-out by Dan Cole's knee as he tried to jump over his captain and George Ford entered the fray.

At that stage, Saints had recovered from an early 10-0 deficit on the back of Niall Morris' finish from Flood's gorgeous long pass, to make it 10-5 after Stephen Myler's score.

Saints began to enjoy territory and possession and a Ben Foden try was ruled out by Graham Kitchener's huge hands on 34 minutes holding the ball up long enough for Foden's foot to go into touch.

It was 13-5 when Ford missed a penalty with time expired in the half and Myler bizarrely kicked the re-start dead after Barnes had told him not to.

Tigers won a penalty at the resulting scrum and Hartley's frustration boiled over. As he trudged off in disgrace, Ford made it 16-5 at the break.

A man down, Saints showed tremendous guts to win the third quarter of the game 12-8 with tries from Foden on 43 minutes and the excellent Dickson on 56. At the other end, the equally excellent Kitchener scored for Leicester and Ford hit a penalty to make it 24-17.

It was blow-for-blow and anyone's game at that stage – but Saints began to tire.

Both sides' line-outs were really struggling but, crucially, Leicester were on top in the scrum where Logovi'i Mulipola had a huge game against Brian Mujati and Cole forced Soane Tonga'uiha into numerous indiscretions.

On 66 minutes, Manu Tuilagi delivered the killer blow by handing off Tom Wood and running in from 30 metres and when Niki Goneva scored Tigers' fourth try on 73 minutes, that was that.

Tigers celebrated in style and deservedly lived for a wonderful moment.

The debate around the game's main talking point, will, however, last a lot longer.

MORE PICTURES FROM THE AVIVA PREMIERSHIP TRIUMPHLeicester Tigers fans at TwickenahamLeicester Tigers v Northampton Saints - action from the matchLeicester Tigers v Northampton Saints - players celebrate

One of the best finals –  verdict on Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints clash


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images