![]() Ford spied two tight-five forwards in front of him and darted between Coles and Ehren Painter from the edge of the 22. Liebenberg intercepted Mitchell deep in Northampton territory. Biggar missed the conversion and then hobbled off as Tigers replied. Lawes pierced the defensive line and Hanro Liebenberg dragged down Api Ratuniyarawa but Freeman crossed easily. The tie continued to see-saw into the second period and Leicester failed to contain Northampton’s fizz. Referee Matthew Carley ruled that yellow was sufficient, to the relief of Leicester, and Biggar split the posts to send the teams down the tunnel at 6-6. Under his own posts, Guy Porter pressed out of the line and clattered Hutchinson. A deft kick from Hutchinson encouraged a knock-on out of a covering Ben Youngs and, on the stroke of half-time, a flash-point arrived. Saints ended the half how they had begun it, with their fluent attack causing headaches. And while Jasper Wiese continued to punch holes, Leicester’s phase-play stuttered. Genge and Dan Cole forced a penalty and Ford converted. Ford hooked an awkward chip, giving Freeman no choice but to surrender a five-metre scrum. On the half-hour, the hosts finally found fluency. When the Scotland centre looped a long pass towards Skosan, though, another spill resulted. Biggar’s attempted drop-goal slid wide and then Rory Hutchinson ghosted past Ford. Still the visitors looked the more likely. Following a close-range line-out, Tigers eked out a penalty and Ford levelled matters. Harry Wells muscled a maul turnover and, although Juarno Augustus and Courtney Lawes combined for a breakdown steal, Alex Coles flung a long pass across his 22 and into touch. “If we have converted two of them we might have been able to force Tigers to go away from their game-plan because they would have been chasing the game.” “There is disappointment we created probably four opportunities in the first 55 minutes,” Boyd admitted afterwards. Moments later, Saints shoved Tigers off their own put-in, only for Skosan to drop Mitchell’s pass. Biggar’s cross-kick found space beyond Steward but Courtnall Skosan fumbled, so Alex Mitchell’s snipe did not count. Freddie Burns replaced him, with Steward shifting to the wing.ĭan Biggar landed the first points from 40 metres and Northampton thrived amid a frantic start. Dan Kelly, returning from a hamstring injury at inside centre for his first appearance since April, limped off. But that run had certainly bred swagger.įreeman, at full-back in the absence of George Furbank, helped Saints hold firm during some early aerial sparring and Tigers suffered a significant setback within three minutes. Northampton, conversely, needed a free-scoring sequence of six wins in seven league matches to sneak through. Leicester had become the first ever side to have led the table from the start. These local rivals had trodden different paths to the play-offs. “That effort today was for the Youngs family. “Some things are bigger than rugby and what the Youngs family have been through, nobody can ever imagine,” said Ford, who scored a solo try and set up Freddie Steward for Tigers’ second. Tom and Maisie, the couple’s daughter, were at the ground. Prior to kick-off, the crowd observed a minute of applause for Tiffany Youngs, the wife of former skipper Tom and sister-in-law of scrum-half Ben, who died this week after a heroic battle against cancer. The fund-raising exploits of Kevin Sinfield, their defence coach, spring to mind. Impending exits for Ford, after eight years in two stints, and captain Ellis Genge represent further fuel.Įmotional experiences will have galvanised players. Fortune has smiled on them in close wins. However, there has been a sense of destiny about this campaign for Tigers. Inspired by try-scoring full-back Tommy Freeman, Northampton had ample chances to get Chris Boyd, their departing director of rugby, to Twickenham. George Ford marked his farewell appearance for Leicester Tigers at Mattioli Woods Welford Road with a 22-point haul that sent his team past Northampton Saints and into their first Premiership decider since 2013.Ī flawed but gripping victory, sealed in appropriate fashion by Ford’s scruffy dropped goal and a powerful scrum penalty, gives Steve Borthwick an opportunity to complete this proud club’s turnaround next week against Saracens, his old side. Steve Borthwick's side will face Saracens, who overcame Harlequins, in the final at Twickenham.George Ford scored 22 points as Leicester capitalised on a wasteful performance from Northampton.
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