Northampton Saints to meet Leicester in Premiership final
The Saints were unable to beat one of the Top 3 side all season but two tries in two minutes from Brian Mujati and Jamie Elliot half-way through the first half saw them pull away and Saracens were never able to make up the deficit despite a vibrant reaction in the second half.
They will now face their biggest rivals in Leicester, who they haven’t beat in the league since September 2010, on May 25 in a bid to claim their maiden Premiership title.
The start of the game was tense with neither side able to put their game in place until Saints’ magnificent two minutes.
Saracens found their feet in the second half but, frustrated and chasing the game, they made too many mistakes against the well-organised Northampton defence lead by a once again ever present Samu Manoa.
Stephen Myler, who controlled the game brilliantly, missed two early penalties but Mujati went over for the first score of the game following a well worked catch and drive.
It sparked a reaction from Saracens who went back on the attack but Mujati’s prop partner Soane Tonga’uiha secured a vital turnover to launch a counter attack.
He offloaded to Dylan Hartley and, after relay from Lee Dickson and Christian Day, flyer Jamie Elliot, above, was over for his tenth try of the season.
Myler was on target again with the conversion from the other touchline and in two minutes Northampton went 14-0 in front.
It went from bad to worse in the next minute for the home side as Charlie Hodgson had to leave the field with a apparent knee injury and four minutes later Myler added a penalty for a 17-0 on the half-hour mark.
Owen Farrell had the opportunity to put Saracens on the board just before the break with a penalty but his attempt went wide and the home side went into half-time scoreless and trailing by 17 points.
The issues seemed to have been addressed in the dressing rooms for Saracens who started the second half on the front foot but David Strettle forgot Chris Ashton on his shoulder with the try-line begging.
The winger was held up and from the resulting scrum, Northampton earned a vital penalty to clear their lines.
50 minutes into the game, Sarries finally got on the scoreboard as Farrell kicked a long range penalty and he backed it up three minutes later with a second to reduce the gap to 11 points.
It seemed a comeback was on the card for the 2011 champions but Northampton regathered their composure and, when Lee Dickson spotted the space on the blindside to send GJ van Velze over, Northampton had one foot at Twickenham.
But Saracens were handed a life-line after Elliot was sent to the bin for tackling his Ashton in the air.
Soon after Duncan Taylor, right, went over for his first ever Premiership try and Farrell added the extras go 11 points behind again.
The crowd in the Allianz Arena started to push behind their team and Sarries looked like a different team from the one that started the game but Myler put the final nail into their coffin with a penalty eight minutes from time and send Saints to HQ for a most anticipated East Midlands derby.
For Saracens
Tries: Taylor
Conversions: Farrell
Penalties: Farrell 2
For Northampton
Tries: Mujati, Elliot, Van Velze
Conversions: Myler 3
Penalties: Myler 2
Sin bins: Elliot
Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Tomkins, Farrell, Strettle; Hodgson, De Kock; Vunipola, Brits, Stevens; Borthwick (Capt.), Hargreaves; Brown, Saull, Wray.
Replacements: Smit, Gill, Nieto, Botha, Kruis, Wigglesworth, Taylor, Wyles.
Northampton: Foden; Pisi, Wilson, Burrell, Elliot; Myler, Dickson; Tonga’uiha, Hartley (Capt.), Mujati; Lawes, Day; Clark, Wood, Manoa.
Replacements: Haywood, Waller, Mercey, Dowson, Van Velze, Roberts, Lamb, May.
Star man: Samu Manoa – Northampton
Referee: JP Doyle
NICK VERDIER
