Northampton Saints booked their place in the Rugby Premiership final after holding on for a 22-20 victory over reigning champions Saracens.
Burger Odendaal crossed for the hosts, while Fin Smith kicked the hosts’ remaining 17 points at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens to send them through to the Twickenham showpiece.
Northampton were hosting their first play-off game in nine years, but fell behind as Elliot Daly kicked Saracens 6-0 to the good.
However, the Saints broke through in the 19th minute as Odendaal crossed, while the right boot of Smith kept the scoreboard ticking over to 16-6 at half-time.
Saracens responded in the 56th minute as a clever sidestep from Owen Farrell enabled him to punt in behind the defence for Alex Lewington to touch down in the corner, and cut the deficit to three points.
Although, the kicking of Smith opened a nine-point advantage for Northampton, with Lucio Cinti’s last-gasp try proving a consolation for the reigning champions as their crown slipped away.Talking Point – Third time lucky for the Saints
Talking Point – Third time lucky for the Saints
This was the Saints’ third successive play-off appearance, with the previous two seeing them fall at the semi-final hurdle.
Roared on by the raucous home crowd, they were not to be denied this time around, and are back in the Premiership final for the first time in a decade.
It was also fitting for the victory to come exactly 10 years to the day since they lifted the trophy at Twickenham.
Their dominance in the pack was evident, conceding just a single penalty from scrums compared to their opponents’ six.
As for Saracens, the reign is over and they will have to wait at least another season for a seventh title.
Player of the Match – Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Mitchell played a key role in Northampton’s rise to the Premiership summit, with his 11 assists the most by any player during the regular season.
The England scrum-half was involved in everything positive for the Saints once more this evening and, but for Gonzalez’s tremendous last-ditch tackle, he would have got his name among the try scorers.
Player Ratings
Northampton Saints: Furbank 7, Freeman 8, Odendaal 8, Dingwall 7, Sleightholme 8, Smith 9, Mitchell 9*; Waller 8, Langdon 7, Davison 8, Moon 7, Coles 7, Lawes 8, Pearson 7, Augustus 7. Replacements: Matavesi 7, Iyogun 7, Millar-Miles 7, Mayanavanua N/A, Graham 7, Ludlam 7, Hendy 7.
Saracens: Daly 8, Lewington 8, Cinti 8, Tompkins 6, Parton 6, Farrell 7, Van Zyl 7; M. Vunipola 7, George 7, Riccioni 7, Itoje 7, Isiekwe 7, Gonzalez 8, Earl 7, B. Vunipola 7. Replacements: Dan 7, Mawi 7, Hoskins 6, Tizard 6, McFarland 7, Willis 6, Davies 6, Lozowski 7.
Match Highlights
21′ – TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 7-6 SARACENS (ODENDAAL): Breakthrough for the hosts! The Saints gradually build momentum and the anticipation rises among the home fans. A precise offload paves the way for Odendaal to burst free and cross. Smith makes no mistake with the conversion, edging the hosts in front.
56′ – TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 16-13 SARACENS (LEWINGTON): Farrell waves his magic wand with a clever step inside and punt for the corner, where Lewington arrives and touches down. Daly then converts a tricky kick from the touchline to cut the gap to three points.
61′ – WHAT A TACKLE: Following a clever offload, Mitchell darts towards the corner. However, Gonzalez makes up ground brilliantly and makes a superb last-ditch tackle to force the scrum-half into touch before he grounds the ball. TMO overrules the initial try and the margin remains at three points.
80′ – TRY! NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 22-20 SARACENS (CINTI): After Daly finds touch, Saracens neatly work the line-out to the other side of the field, culminating in Cinti bursting over the line. Daly quickly converts and the visitors have less than a minute to score again.
Key Stats
Northampton Saints are through to their fourth Premiership final, having also reached the showpiece in 1998-99, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
The Saints have also won each of their last seven matches on home soil.