BIARRITZ OLYMPIQUE 6

NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 7

Heineken Cup quarter final

Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Saints started patiently, concentrating their attack around the fringes. And their first statement of intent came in the fourth minute when a penalty won in the play following Ben Cohen’s 40-metre break was kicked to the corner by Carlos Spencer.

Though the visitors had won their first throw, the next two were won against the head by Biarritz and Dimitri Yachvili cleared to safety. The Frenchmen then showed their first hand of the afternoon when Thomas Lievremont quickly tapped a penalty.

The ball was sent wide and only a timely Mark Robinson tackle on Jean-Baptiste Gobele ended a threatening attack. Right winger Philippe Bidabe also got in on the action early as Biarritz sought to throw off their famed shackles. His kick ahead was marshalled into touch by Cohen and the England winger was soon in defensive action again against Serge Betsen with both players receiving a ticking off for their minor set-to after the ball had gone.

But there was one player who was the fulcrum of the first quarter’s play – Yachvili. The scrum-half, obviously looking to prove a point to French national coach Bernard Laporte, was at the heart of everything Biarritz did. His break down the right wing had Saints struggling defensively, as did some sleight of hand by the left touchline.

Paul Diggin did superbly to de-fuse Yachvili’s bomb as Biarritz looked for the breakthrough. The scoreline was still nil-nil however and Saints were still looking adventurous when they got their hands on the ball. Robbie Kydd was upended by Nicolas Brusque at the end of a break and there was a promising backline move that was ended by a misplaced pass.

But Saints suffered a massive blow just before the half-hour when Sean Lamont, whose break a couple of minutes earlier had Biarritz scrambling, stayed down after a ruck. He had to be helped off and with Stephen Myler’s introduction Saints’ backline was forced to reshuffle with Spencer moving to outside centre.

With the tension ratcheting up a few notches there was another scuffle at a breakdown in Saints’ 22. Though this ended in a penalty that Spencer used to clear the visitors handed Yachvili the first chance of points by infringing 45 metres out. But he made his first mistake of the afternoon by pushing the attempt wide.

The breakthrough came on the stroke of half-time. Though the Saints’ pack had done superbly to withstand a powerful drive and forcing the ball loose, Paul Tupai held on that fraction too long. Yachvili converted the penalty to end the half with Biarritz leading 3-0.

The second half looked to have begun with a double blow for Saints when Kydd stayed down and Myler had a clearance kick charged down. But Kydd continued after treatment and Julien Peyrelongue knocked on with men outside and with two free kicks and a penalty the visitors cleared.

They followed this up with a series of phases that won a penalty midway between the Biarritz 10 and 22-metre lines. But Spencer pushed the shot wide, as did Diggin with a long-range drop-goal in Saints’ next attack and the score remained 3-0.

Saints had already shown that they weren’t here to make up the numbers and their thousand-strong band of supporters did likewise by making their voices heard. And they were nearly rewarded when Robinson and Diggin breaks down the right and left respectively had Biarritz on the rack.

But last year’s Heineken Cup finalists have a renowned defence and it held firm. Indeed on many occasions the tackles had Saints operating on their collective back foot and when the hosts won a penalty on their 22-metre line the travelling fans had the feeling that the best chance had gone.

This was enhanced a minute past the hour when Yachvili – who a couple of minutes earlier had hit the post – slotted a long-range penalty to increase the lead to 6-0.

Then with 13 minutes to go and just as Biarritz were looking for the kill with a 20-metre forward drive, Saints struck. Under pressure from Myler Yachvili looked for a speculative off-load. It fell into the arms of the anticipating Kydd who sprinted 60 metres for the game’s first try. Spencer converted and Saints had a one-point lead that shocked the capacity Basque crowd into silence.

The silence became nervous frustration when Damien Traille knocked on in a tackle and then whistles of discontent when Imanol Harinordoquy fumbled Yachvili’s cross kick with space a-plenty in front of him.

It was Saints’ turn to hold out defensively now and their discipline was exemplary under immense pressure. Not only that, but when Marcelo Bosch attempted a last-minute drop-goal there were half a dozen green shirts there to charge it down.

One last home attack was contained, Saints won the ball back and Spencer kicked into touch to end the game. Saints received a warm ovation from the Basques and an understandably joyous one from their own fans.

It was no less than they deserved.

Teams:
Biarritz Olympique – Brusque; Bidabe, Gaitan (Bosch 58mins (Gaitan 72-76mins)), Traille, Gobelet (Bobo 70mins); Peyrelongue, Yachvili; Balan (Avril 55mins), August (capt)(Noirot 70mins), Avril (Lecouls 40mins), Thion, Couzinet (Carizza 47mins), Betsen, Harinordoquy, Lievremont.

Northampton Saints – Diggin; Lamont (Myler 31mins), Reihana (capt), Kydd, Cohen; Spencer, Robinson; Smith, Hartley, Brooks (Tonga’uhia 47mins (Budgen 72mins)), Lord (Gerard 47mins), Short, Tupai, Lewitt (Fox 72mins), Labit.

Scorers:
Biarritz Olympique – Pens: Yachvili (2).

Northampton Saints – Try: Kydd; Con: Spencer.

TIMELINE:
40mins BO Pen Yachvili 3-0
HALF-TIME BO 3 SAINTS 0
61mins BO Pen Yachvili 6-0
67mins SAINTS Try Kydd Con Spencer 6-7
FULL-TIME BO 6 SAINTS 7