Northampton booked their place in the last four of the Powergen Cup after a
hard-fought victory over Saracens.
The lead constantly changed hands in a thrilling cup clash but in the end it
was Wayne Smith's revitalised Saints side that deservedly finished on top after
outscoring their opponents by three tries to one.
Saracens had to thank ex-South Africa international Jannie de Beer for keeping
them in contention.
De Beer landed four penalties and one drop goal in a dominant first-half
display.
Northampton were never far behind though with Steve Thompson scoring the
half's only try.
Ben Cohen, Peter Jorgensen and John Leslie were all involved in the move as
Thompson charged over the line after outfoxing Saracens' Scott Murray. Paul
Grayson converted.
The visitors kept the pressure on after the break. They started well and were
rewarded for their hard work with a penalty try.
Saints had looked set to score with two men out wide as they neared the
Saracens try line and centre Tom Shanklin knew that too. He knocked forward to
his cost as referee Roy Maybank penalised Saracens with an easy seven-pointer
for Northampton.
De Beer and Grayson then exchanged penalties but Saints then put their foot
down.
After controversially being denied a try for an alleged forward pass the
visitors made no mistake after 65 minutes.
Cohen, once again hugely influential, accurately passed out wide in the
midfield for full-back Nick Beal to touch down. Grayson again converted before
adding a penalty.
De Beer hit back for Saracens with a 76th-minute penalty but Northampton kept
the lead with a Beal drop goal.
The home side never gave up and replacement Gerald Arasa crashed over the line
for a converted try five minutes into injury time but his efforts came too
late.
Teams:
Saracens: Winnan, Shanklin, Sorrell, Horan, O'Mahony, De Beer,
Bracken, Flatman, Russell, Durant, Roche, Murray, Chesney,
Roques, Hill.
Replacements: Arasa for Shanklin (62), Harbut for Durant (67),
K. Benazzi for Chesney (62).
Not Used: Cairns, Hooper, Walshe, Sparg.
Tries: Arasa.
Cons: De Beer.
Pens: De Beer 6.
Drop Goals: De Beer.
Northampton: Beal, Moir, Jorgensen, Leslie, Cohen, Grayson,
Brooks, Smith, Thompson, Stewart, Phillips, Brouzet, Soden,
Pountney, Blowers.
Replacements: Budgen for Brooks (80),
Ackermann for Phillips (46), Seely for Soden (55),
Richmond for Blowers (72).
Not Used: Vass, Tucker, Brotherstone.
Tries: Thompson, Penalty, Beal.
Cons: Grayson 3.
Pens: Grayson 2.
Drop Goals: Beal
Sin Bin: Moir (31).
Att: 7,617
Ref: Roy Maybank (RFU).
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