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| 11 January 2003, 5:31 pm |
| Heart-Stopping Finish At Franklin'S Gardens |
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NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 17
BIARRITZ 14
Saturday, January 11, 2003
Franklin's Gardens
The hearts of more than 10,000 Saints fans nearly stopped beating as normal time neared its end at Franklin's Gardens today. Saints had to score a try to take victory and have any hope of progressing into the quarter-final stage of this season's Heineken Cup, and it was not for the want of pressure or heart on Saints' behalf.
The breakthrough came when Biarritz fly-half Julien Peyrelongue was sent to the sin-bin by Irish referee Alan Lewis for not rolling away after putting in a tackle. It was one of the many ploys that the visitors had used to spoil Saints' party, but this time it was to spoil Biarritz's chance of a second away win in pool six.
No sooner had Peyrelongue left the field then Saints began their assault on the Biarritz line. Replacement centre Peter Jorgensen called for the ball before bowling through two Biarritz players and stretching his hand and the ball over the line for Saints' second try. Injury returnee Matt Dawson kicked the conversion and took Saints into a tantalising 17-14 lead after 79 minutes of play.
The home side knew there was injury time to play and it would only take a penalty or a drop-goal for Biarritz to claw back a draw. And possession went their way in the dying minutes of the game, resulting in scrum just five metres out from Saints' line. By this time, Saints had lost replacement lock Jon Phillips to the sin-bin and they were a man down in the scrum. To their credit, they gave it the big hit that was required and as hooker Julien Campo headed toward the line, wing Ben Cohen forced him into touch for a Saints' lineout.
Now lineouts have been a bit dodgy at Franklin's Gardens of late, but this one sailed right to the back of the pack for Dawson to kick to touch to end the game and the pain of tightened chests being experienced by the crowd.
It was truly breathtaking stuff and heroes were needed to ensure the game was won, as Saints did not have any loose forward cover on the bench, which meant a full 80-plus minutes work for some players in what was a physical game.
Biarritz built themselves an early lead in the first half through scrum-half kicker Dimitri Yachvili, while Grayson uncharacteristically struggled with his goal-kicking. Saints pulled back though with a try from a fired up Steve Thompson and Grayson got the conversion to take a narrow lead of 7-6 after 33 minutes.
But Biarritz came back again when wing Philippe Bernat-Salles saw an opportunity from deep in Saints' 22 and he sent centre Jean-Emmanuel Cassin through countless players at tremendous speed to reclaim the lead with a try.
Yachvili stretched that lead to seven points early on in the second half following his third penalty while Grayson missed another couple. Dawson took over kicking duties for the next one and took Saints to 10-14 - but they still needed that try and it was Grayson's punting that helped Saints get the possession and territory that was required to set up that nerve-wracking finish.
Teams:
Northampton Saints - Beal; Ripol (Brooks 44mins), Hyndman (Jorgensen 70mins), Leslie (capt), Cohen; Grayson, Dawson; Smith (Budgen 63mins), Thompson, Stewart (Morris 53mins), Williams, Hunter (Phillips 72mins), Seely, Soden, Connors.
Biarritz - Etcheverria; Bernat-Salles, Cassin (Stcherbina 59mins), Bousses, Bidabe; Peyrelongue, Yachvili; Menieu (Minassian 65mins), Gonzales (capt) (Campo 79mins), Avril (Fitzgerald 71mins), Versailles (Nauroy 70mins), Roumat, Betsen, Tonita (Mazas 82mins), Lievremont (Milheres 48mins).
Referee:
Alan Lewis
Touch judges:
Gareth Doyle & Ian Crowe
Scorers:
Northampton Saints - Tries: Thompson, Jorgensen; Cons: Grayson, Dawson; Pen: Dawson.
Biarritz: Try: Cassin; Pens: Yachvili (3).
Yellow cards:
Peyrelongue (78mins)
Phillips (84mins)
Attendance:
10,523
Heineken Man of the Match:
Ben Cohen
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