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| 25 January 2003, 7:55 pm |
| Semi-Final Beckons For Saints |
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BATH RUGBY 29
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 30
The Recreation Ground
Saturday, January 25, 2003
Another late try by centre Peter Jorgensen gave Northampton Saints the vital points they needed to get through to the semi-finals of the Powergen Cup.
The former Wallaby had got Saints out of jail against Orrell in round six and against Biarritz in the Heineken Cup three weeks ago, and his eye for a good finish gave fly-half Paul Grayson the chance to go one point ahead with a conversion in the 79th minute.
Saints began their Powergen Cup quarter-final a little slowly and were quickly facing a 16-3 hill to climb after Bath's scrum-half Gareth Cooper scored for the West Countrymen in the 10th minute following two penalties from Ollie Barkley.
It looked as though Bath's cup reputation was going to become a harsh reality for Saints, but the visitors managed to pick themselves up before the game ran away from them.
Their comeback came courtesy of wing Ben Cohen in the 24th minute when Saints were awarded a free kick when Bath were blown up for turning the scrum. Matt Dawson took the tap and centre Jorgensen made the hard yards through the first line of defence for Cohen to run onto the ball and score his first try of the afternoon. Grayson kicked the conversion and brought Saints back to a respectable 16-10.
Saints took the lead for the first time 10 minutes later when Grayson clattered one of those accurate cross kicks into the waiting hands of Cohen, and followed that kick up with another conversion to make the score 16-17.
But Bath were quick to come back. It actually took just one minute in fact, when the home side used quick ball from the lineout to send through Cooper, who enabled prop David Barnes to burst over the line to reclaim the lead. After Barkley's conversion, the half-time score stood at 23-17.
Cohen had reached a landmark today by playing in his 150th game for Saints, but his achievement was slightly overtaken when Grayson kicked his second successful penalty of the afternoon to take his 500th of his Saints' career. Unfortunately, his success was shortly followed up by a spat between Saints No 8 Mark Connors and Bath lock and captain Danny Grewcock, who both ended up serving 10 minutes in the sin-bin.
Barkley and Grayson exchanged penalties again before Barkley kicked his fifth to give his side a six-point lead with only 11 minutes of normal time remaining.
The need for a try was not lost on Saints and they set about attacking Bath's line with such immense ferocity that after eight minutes, the home side could not hold out any longer. Saints' patience paid off and Jorgensen's determination gave the visitors the win, and Bath the severe disappointment of defeat.
The draw for the semi-final will take place between 4.45pm and 5pm and will be broadcast on Radio 5 Live from the Madejski Stadium tomorrow.
Teams:
Northampton Saints - Beal; Reihana, Jorgensen, Leslie, Cohen; Grayson, Dawson; Smith, Richmond (Thompson 48), Stewart (Budgen 60mins), Lord, Hunter (Williams 25mins) Blowers (Seely 35-40mins, 59mins), Pountney (capt), Connors.
Bath Rugby - Perry (Voyce 69mins); Danielli, Maggs, Tindall, Barkley; Catt, Cooper; Barnes (Emms 65mins), Humphreys (Mears 75mins), Mallett (Galasso 56mins), Borthwick, Grewcock (capt), Beattie (G Thomas 68mins), Vander (Scaysbrook 75mins), N Thomas.
Referee:
Steve Lander
Touch judges:
Steve Leyshon & Steve Savage
Scorers:
Northampton Saints - Tries: Cohen (2), Jorgensen; Cons: Grayson (3); Pen: Grayson (3).
Bath Rugby - Tries: Cooper, Barnes; Cons: Barkley (2); Pens: Barkley (5).
Yellow cards:
Beattie (40mins)
Attendance:
7,430
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