For a third time in as many seasons, Northampton Saints will compete in a major final after they overcame East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers at a raucous home Gallagher PREM play-off at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
True to form, the men in Black, Green and Gold made playing in front of their own supporters count. The Friday night 45-31 success extended their imperious run in front of their own supporters to just three losses in 40 front-line games, which stretches back over more than three seasons and nearly 40 months.
A wild first-half delivered seven tries, with four of them coming Northampton’s way as Tom Litchfield grabbed a remarkable treble and Tommy Freeman took his tally for the season to 19 – but Leicester remained firmly in the fight with three scores of their own.
While Tigers added two more after the break, they couldn’t topple Saints as George Furbank struck twice, either side of an Archie McParland effort, to send the home supporters into delirium and keep the dream alive for a second PREM title in as many years.
FIRST HALF
A relentless opening couple of minutes from Saints gained instant reward as McParland and Henry Pollock put pace on the ball to race into the Tigers half. Before Leicester were fully reset, the backs clicked into gear for Litchfield to put on the afterburners and race home for the game’s opening points.
When a forward pass was ruled five metres from the line, no second invitation was needed as Hanro Liebenberg burrowed his way over. Billy Searle couldn’t match Fin Smith’s accuracy from the tee, so a slender lead remained in Northampton’s favour.
Worse was to follow when a scrum penalty went Leicester’s way. After initially providing stern resistance on their own goalline, Freddie Steward rolled out of a tackle to reach over and finish – and this time Searle was on target from the tee.
Momentum swung back violently to the south side of the East Midlands as the game neared its quarter-way point, with two quickfire Saints tries.
First, Litchfield profited from a collision between two opponents attempting to defuse Rory Hutchinson’s grubber, allowing the ball to spill free into the ingoal area for the outside centre to ground.
There was no element of fortune to the third home score. Fly-half Smith quickly identified the pass wasn’t on and backed his footwork and pace before toeing the ball forward for Freeman to Superman‑leap for the finish. Smith’s extras stretched the lead to ten.
When Pollock swallow‑dived over after 30 minutes, Phil Dowson’s side were purring. Unfortunately, the No.8 was in front of the kicker, Freeman, resulting in the try being chalked off. That was compounded when a high tackle allowed Leicester entry into the 22, and Searle fired a low crossfield kick for Ollie Hassell‑Collins to scoop up and finish. The try’s architect then converted, cutting the deficit to just a couple of points.
Unsurprisingly, given the frenetic nature of the first half, there was one further twist – and it came Northampton’s way. It started with a Pollock breakdown burgle and a probing Smith penalty. After stretching the defence left and then right, it was Litchfield who completed his hat‑trick with a leg‑pumping drive to the line as Saints led by a converted score at the break.
SECOND HALF
Just as they did in the first half, Saints flew out of the blocks and landed an early score in the second period.
After Litchfield was denied a fourth try of the contest in the left corner, Saints struck from the penalty that followed. Emmanuel Iyogun smashed his way forward, the recycle speed was breakneck, and in a congested channel Rory Hutchinson seemed to pause time with the ball in his hands before feeding the onrushing George Furbank. The fullback marked his final game at cinch Stadium with a trademark darting burst to the line.
Tigers maintained their uncanny knack of striking back, as Orlando Bailey went over for a try that Searle converted to make it a seven‑point haul.
A comparative lull followed — at least in terms of scoring. Tigers were the aggressors in territory and possession, but this time Saints found the defensive solutions to safeguard their seven‑point advantage.
After a period spent on the back foot, Northampton fans roared as Elliot Millar Mills rolled over for what would have been his first try for theclub — and would have put one foot in the final. Once more, the TMO intervened to spot a knock‑on in an earlier ruck.
There was to be no denying McParland with 15 minutes remaining. After initially turning down a kickable shot at goal and then turning the ball over, Saints held their nerve in the face of some rush defence. Tom Pearson broke free, linked with Furbank, and the fullback fed McParland to race home. Smith’s conversion stretched the lead to 14 with as many minutes left to play.
Almost predictably, given the meandering flow of the game, Tigers replied when Searle toed a teasing grubber for Hassell‑Collins to gather and ground. The skewed conversion made it a nine‑point ball game heading into the single‑digit minutes.
There wasn’t to be a cruel late twist — quite the opposite. When running down the clock was the logical option, Smith instead nudged a cross‑field kick for Freeman to reel in and feed Furbank for the try that extended his Saints career by one more glorious game next week at Allianz Stadium.
LINE-UPS
Saints: 15 George Furbank (c); 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 George Hendy; 10 Fin Smith, 9 Archie McParland; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun, 2 Curtis Langdon, 3 Elliot Millar Mills; 4 Alex Coles, 5 Ed Prowse; 6 Josh Kemeny, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Henry Pollock.
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Luke Green, 19 JJ Van Der Mescht, 20 Tom Lockett, 21 Callum Chick, 22 Jonny Weimann, 23 Fraser Dingwall.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Will Wand, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins; 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Jamie Blamire, 3 Joe Heyes; 4 George Martin, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Joaquin Moro.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17. Archie van der Flier, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Cameron Henderson, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Solomone Kata, 23 Izaia Perese.