Aviva Premiership Semi Finals Review - And then there were Two...
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Harlequins huddle before the semi-final
©Emma Thurston
Northampton versus Leicester and Saracens versus Harlequins – on paper they are two feisty matches in practice they were even better as over the course of 48 hours we witnessed the type of rugby that makes you proud to be a supporter.
The action started on Friday night at Franklin’s Gardens with the East Midlands knockout derby. Saints went into the match billed as the favourite; they were in form and they were at home, these are two factors that are usually match winning ones; however, during the first forty minutes neither looked to be useful to Mallinder’s men as the Tigers’ bulldozed to a 17-6 lead.
Tigers were clinical and when they had the opportunity to put points on the board they did so courtesy of two tries - one each for Tuilagi and B. Youngs and the reliable boot of Toby Flood in support.
Northampton initially weren’t able to finish off their opportunities and convert the possession that they had into then tangible points that they so desperately desired, and required. For some team’s half time is a bitter sweet period, the rest is welcomed… however the pause in momentum is frustrating and on Friday night this must have been how Leicester felt, after the break Saints came out all guns blazing. The reward was an early 3 points from Stephen Myler and the return of British and Irish Lion Alex Corbisiero.
As with all East Midlands’ derbies the players’ emotions began to soar and on 50 minutes one individual’s boiled over when Ma’afu threw a punch off the ball at Tom Youngs. The result was a yellow for Youngs but a red for Ma’afu and at that point Leicester smelt blood; whilst Saints’ mountain to climb grew by about 20 feet.
The following half an hour of play was simply breathtaking from Northampton - Lee Dickson came on and he delivered exactly the type of ball that Burrell and Myler needed to march forwards and a huge amount of composure and self-belief fuelled Mallinder’s men.
The powerhouses, George North and Tom Wood, delivered the tries as Northampton overcame their man deficit to push their noses a point ahead with a matter of seconds remaining on the clock.
It was Northampton’s first win over their East Midland rivals in ten attempts. In previous years Northampton would have choked under the pressure of the play-off semi-finals; however, under the leadership of Phil Dowson, this team are fuelled by the motto “it’s Our time”, and when it counted they remained cool and delivered the result.
The Leicester Tigers did not play badly: they put their bodies on the line and gave it everything, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Ed Slater will be bitterly disappointed that it was on his watch that Leicester failed to reach the Aviva Premiership Final for the first time in 10 years.
As was said time and time again after that game “That was a proper game of rugby”, it had it all in spades and the second semi-final had a lot to live up to!
Final Score Northampton Saints 21 Leicester Tigers 20
On Saturday afternoon at 2pm it was time for the second of the Aviva Premiership Semi Finals, as Saracens welcomed Harlequins to Allianz Park for the most important London Derby of the season.
Saracens have been in outstanding form and the expectation laid on the shoulders of Mark McCall’s men was huge. The last time that the selected squad stepped out onto a pitch together they produced one of the most outstanding displays of rugby that we have seen in years.
In the build up to the game you could tell that they were quietly confident; however, equally, they all knew that in order to beat Harlequins they had to deliver the same again and replicating brilliance is never easy.
Conor O’Shea said before the match that he was sick of his side being written off and if you stop and pause for a moment you can understand his point. Harlequins didn’t make it through to the semi-final by accident; instead they worked tirelessly playing cup final after cup final in order to have the opportunity to run out in the play-offs.
Allianz Park has often been said to be a quiet stadium; however, when Steve Borthwick led his side out for the last time the noise could have been heard back in Northampton such was the volume.
Quins started well, they weren’t over-awed by the occasion and crucially they didn’t allow Saracens to race away from them. Instead they calmly recorded the first points of the match and sent a message to their opponents that they were there to break up the party.
For all intents and purposes, during the early stages of the game, Quins looked to be the stronger of the two sides; Brown and Care glistened, Easter enforced and Evans cooled orchestrated proceedings from 10. As with every single match that Saracens are involved in, the physicality was brutal; however, they were just slightly less composed than usual, epitomised by Farrell’s misfiring boot off the tee. Harlequins took advantage of the yellow cards to Bosch and Stevens and just before half time struck gold thanks to Mike Brown and that meant that after 40 minutes it was 17-11 to the visitors.
After the break Saracens began to dominate, they found fifth gear and tries from Brad Barritt and Chris Ashton took the game to a place where Quins simply could not reach it. Harlequins’ bumpy and ultimately tiring road to the semi-final showed in the second forty and their tank was firmly sat on empty.
Worryingly, though for England fans, Mike Brown left the field injured on 66 minutes and whilst the extent of his injury is unconfirmed it could be a nervy race against time to get him ready for England duty. An equally sad sight was Steve Borthwick slowly walking off the field clearly in some discomfort, that was certainly not the way that he wished to end time playing time at Allianz Park and as Mark McCall rightly pointed out: “A career as wonderful as his doesn’t deserve to finish today.” It remains to be seen whether he will be fit to take part in Saturday’s Heineken Cup Final.
Harlequins should be immensely proud of their performance and equally of what they have achieved this season. O’Shea’s men have endured injury after injury after injury and yet they have powered through and during the process uncovered some brilliant talents: Kyle Sinckler and Dave Ward being the two most notable. However, Saturday afternoon’s match was just one step too far and Nick Evans summed it up when he said “we gave it our all but sometimes that’s just not enough”.
Over the past 8 months Saracens have changed many people’s perception of them as they have evolved their game plan and become a world class side in the process. With the likes of Brits, Brown, Burger, Farrell and the Vunipola’s in their ranks they have the ammunition to go ahead and achieve a historic double; however, in the domestic competition a fearless and mighty Northampton Saints stand in their way…
.jpg "Harlequins huddle before the semi-final")
