Saracens booked their place in the Zurich Premiership wildcard final, despite being comprehensively beaten in the second leg of their play-off clash with Leeds at Headingley.
The London club, who romped to a 57-21 victory in the first leg at Vicarage
Road on Wednesday night, progress by virtue of their superior aggregate score -
keeping their Heineken Cup hopes alive.
It was not all good news for Saracens though - inspirational England flanker
Richard Hill had to be helped off the field in the 67th minute with what
appeared to be a leg injury.
Hill's early exit will not be welcomed by England coach Clive Woodward who is
soon to announce his squad for the World Cup warm-up matches against New Zealand
and Australia next month.
Leeds fully deserved their triumph this afternoon, overcoming a woeful first
half to run in tries through Chris Murphy, Alix Popham and Cameron Mather as
Saracens fell away alarmingly after the interval.
However, despite exiting the play-offs at the first stage, the Tykes could
still be competing in the Heineken Cup next season.
If Wasps beat Bath in the Parker Pen Challenge Cup next Sunday, Phil Davies'
men will take their place in the tournament courtesy of their fifth place finish
in the Zurich Premiership.
The match was just a minute old when Saracens registered their first points,
Andy Goode stroking over an easy penalty after full-back Dan Scarbrough had made
a hash of Tim Horan's up-and-under.
Both sides were down to 14 men moments later when Tykes hooker Mark Regan and
Saracens prop Christian Califano were sinbinned for fighting, but Leeds were
awarded the penalty and Gordon Ross made no mistake with his kick.
Scarbrough, making his first start in five weeks after recovering from a knee
injury, was then given a glorious opportunity to nudge the Tykes ahead.
Saracens were stretched to breaking point with the England prospect probing
down the left but he chose to go it alone when he had winger Craig Emmerson
unmarked outside him, squandering the best try-scoring chance of the opening 20
minutes.
Headingley was drenched in rain before the game and although conditions had
improved by kick-off, handling was still proving difficult with several players
dropping easy passes.
Entertainment was in short supply as both sides failed to build any momentum
whatsoever, but just as the first half looked like ending in a tame 3-3 draw,
the first try finally arrived in the 38th minute.
Scotland international Ross was the architect, firing a deft kick along the
ground which Scarbrough met over the whitewash, diving on the ball to complete a
well-worked try.
The second half was greeted by glorious sunshine and Saracens wasted no time
in fashioning a try of their own, winger Richard Haughton hacking on a loose
ball before gathering up and feeding Matt Cairns just short of the line.
Cairns evaded a despairing last ditch Leeds tackler and scampered over, his
try just reward for a superb first half which saw the burley hooker showcase
footballing skills rarely seen in a front-row forward.
Leeds replied with a touchdown created by George Harder, the powerful Samoan
winger - easily the Tykes' most dangerous player over the past two months -
offloading in the tackle to second row Murphy.
Murphy, playing his last game in a Leeds shirt after agreeing to join French
club Pau next season, forced his way over from five metres out, showing
tremendous strength to hold off a tackler and stay on his feet until reaching
the line.
Number eight Popham scored a third try for the Tykes in the 68th minute after
his pack helped him over the line following some robust forward driving play.
Mather added another, identical, score moments later after more good work from
the Tykes up front and this time Ross, who was having a dreadful afternoon with
boot, landed the conversion.
Goode replied with a penalty, the last act of a poor match which was watched
by a crowd of just 1,407.
Teams:
Leeds: Scarbrough, Hall, Harder, Davies, Emmerson, Ross,
Hegarty, Shelley, Regan, Kerr, C. Murphy, P. Murphy, Mather,
Ponton, Popham.
Replacements: Holt, Rawlinson, Wring, Hogg, Fea'unati, Dickens,
Rock.
Tries: Scarbrough, C. Murphy, Popham, Mather.
Cons: Ross 2.
Pens: Ross.
Saracens: Horan, Haughton, Johnston, Sorrell, O'Mahony, Goode,
Williams, Califano, Cairns, Storey, Yandell, Chesney, Roques,
Hill, Skirving.
Replacements: Ross, Marsters, B. Russell, Peacey, Kirton, Shanklin,
Castaignede.
Tries: Cairns.
Cons: Goode.
Pens: Goode 2.
Agg (48-70)
Att: 1,407
Ref: Tony Spreadbury (RFU).
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