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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2015/may/23/northampton-saracens-premiership-play-off-semi-final-live
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| Northampton v Saracens: Premiership play-off semi-final – live! | Northampton v Saracens: Premiership play-off semi-final – live! |
| (38 minutes later) | |
| 2.29pm BST14:29 | |
| 22 min: Saracens concede a penalty and Farrell kicks to touch near halfway. Meanwhile, Mako returns. | |
| 2.27pm BST14:27 | |
| 22 min: Garner doesn’t like the first attempt, so it will be reset. | |
| 2.26pm BST14:26 | |
| 21 min: Saracens deal with it this time and send it to halfway but Saints are soon on their bike and back on the front-foot. Dickson makes the key break and motors into the 22. Corbisiero, Burrell and Wood are denied by big tackles as Saracens get their defensive shape back quickly before the hosts concede a penalty for obstruction. This is an important scrum … | |
| 2.22pm BST14:22 | |
| 18 min: Saints get a move on in the scrum and win a penalty. Myler buries it into the Sarries 22. | |
| 2.20pm BST14:20 | |
| 17 min: Before the scrum and due to Mako Vunipola’s sin binning, Barrington is on temporarily for Itoje. | |
| 2.19pm BST14:19 | |
| 16 min: Sarries go back on the attack but Barritt is judged to have given a forward pass to Taylor after a neat feed from Farrell. | |
| 2.18pm BST14:18 | |
| TRY! Northampton 7-7 Saracens (penalty try, con: Myler) | |
| 14 min: Third time lucky! The maul is interrupted once more and Garner has had enough, awarding a penalty try – Saints’ sixth of the season. The extras are added from under the posts by Myler. | |
| Updated at 2.29pm BST | |
| 2.16pm BST14:16 | |
| YELLOW CARD! Mako Vunipola | |
| 12 min: The lineout soon becomes a maul and it has enough behind it to make it over the line but Greg Garner says there’s no try, instead penalising Billy Vunipola for entering at the side. The following lineout turns into another ferocious maul and this time it is Mako who concedes the penalty and trudges off for 10 minutes with a bloodied nose to boot. | |
| Updated at 2.28pm BST | |
| 2.13pm BST14:13 | |
| 10 min: Burger produces a massive hit on Elliot and Saracens turn it over briefly before losing it again. Then Myler sends the ball into touch near the left-sided corner with a beautiful kick. From there Saints steal the lineout but Sarries defence repel them for 10 phases before conceding a penalty for not moving away quick enough. Does Myler go for the posts? No – it’s for the corner. | |
| 2.11pm BST14:11 | |
| 8 min: But Mako Vunipola has turned it over after two phases before the ball ends up in the Saints 22, from where it is kicked back again. | |
| 2.10pm BST14:10 | |
| 7 min: A Burger knock-on results in the first scrum of the game but from it the hosts display some more nervy handling. Burrell eventually kicks and wins a lineout on the Sarries 10 which is taken down by Wood. | |
| 2.09pm BST14:09 | |
| 6 min: Northampton have yet to really settle but you get the sense there will be helluva lot of kicking throughout this contest. Ahsee Tuala, the Saints full-back, has left the action for treatment on what appears to be an arm injury. | |
| 2.07pm BST14:07 | |
| TRY! Northampton 0-7 Saracens (try: Strettle, con: Farrell) | |
| 2 min: What a start! Strettle takes a poor pass from Barritt on the right touchline inside his own 10 and chips down the line. The ball bounces kindly, Taylor reaches it first, finds Strettle behind him. Burger tries to stop him advancing but the Sarries wing makes it across the line. Greg Garner checkes with the TMO but it’s never really in doubt. Farrell adds the extras. | |
| Updated at 2.21pm BST | |
| 2.03pm BST14:03 | |
| 1 min: Saracens send it back to where it came from and are up quick with a couple of solid early tackles to deny Saints any progress. It goes back and forth for a bit without either troubling. | |
| Updated at 2.11pm BST | |
| 2.01pm BST14:01 | |
| Peep! | |
| Stephen Myler gets us underway! | |
| 2.00pm BST14:00 | |
| The teams are emerging from the changing rooms to a lively welcome from a packed Franklin’s Gardens. Almost set! | |
| 1.37pm BST13:37 | 1.37pm BST13:37 |
| There is one change on the Saracens bench – Jared Saunders steps into the place of Schalk Brits, who is ill – but both will start as announced. | There is one change on the Saracens bench – Jared Saunders steps into the place of Schalk Brits, who is ill – but both will start as announced. |
| 1.15pm BST13:15 | 1.15pm BST13:15 |
| Rub you hands together, lick your lips in preparation for what’s to come. | Rub you hands together, lick your lips in preparation for what’s to come. |
| Northampton are the reigning champions and this year finished top of the table. They have a hex over Saracens, having beaten them in last year’s final – thanks to a try from the replacement prop Alex Waller in the final minute of extra-time – but the omens for them to retain their title do not look good. Only four of the past dozen champions finished the season on top of the table and only Leicester and Wasps have successfully defended their titles. | Northampton are the reigning champions and this year finished top of the table. They have a hex over Saracens, having beaten them in last year’s final – thanks to a try from the replacement prop Alex Waller in the final minute of extra-time – but the omens for them to retain their title do not look good. Only four of the past dozen champions finished the season on top of the table and only Leicester and Wasps have successfully defended their titles. |
| Saracens, meanwhile, are still hurting from losing both the Premiership final to the Saints and European showpiece formerly known as the | Saracens, meanwhile, are still hurting from losing both the Premiership final to the Saints and European showpiece formerly known as the |
| Very Average Dutch Lager | Very Average Dutch Lager |
| Heineken Cup against Toulon 12 months ago. Those wounds have not yet healed and while today’s battle could be considered a revenge mission, especially having lost the past three Premiership meetings between the two, reaching Twickenham next weekend will be a step towards redemption. They have also finished the season in top form – even if many in the camp will insist this is a clean slate and what has gone before matters for little in the buildup to this. | Heineken Cup against Toulon 12 months ago. Those wounds have not yet healed and while today’s battle could be considered a revenge mission, especially having lost the past three Premiership meetings between the two, reaching Twickenham next weekend will be a step towards redemption. They have also finished the season in top form – even if many in the camp will insist this is a clean slate and what has gone before matters for little in the buildup to this. |
| This is a recently developed rivalry but one that has grown more ferocious with each passing fixture. Those with longer memories will recall the play-off semi-final at this venue in 2010, when Sarries won 21-19 with a last-minute conversion from the boot of Glen Jackson and they infuriated their hosts by celebrating through the medium of an irritating celebratory song. Will we be hearing this belted out again at the end of what promises to be an absorbing 80 minutes? Or will Northampton be heading for south-west London again? Email and tweet me your predictions, then sit back and enjoy. | This is a recently developed rivalry but one that has grown more ferocious with each passing fixture. Those with longer memories will recall the play-off semi-final at this venue in 2010, when Sarries won 21-19 with a last-minute conversion from the boot of Glen Jackson and they infuriated their hosts by celebrating through the medium of an irritating celebratory song. Will we be hearing this belted out again at the end of what promises to be an absorbing 80 minutes? Or will Northampton be heading for south-west London again? Email and tweet me your predictions, then sit back and enjoy. |
| The teams | The teams |
| Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala; 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson; 1 Alex Corbisiero, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 3 Salesi Ma’afu; 4 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 6 Tom Wood, 7 Calum Clark, 8 Samu Manoa. Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Sam Dickinson, 20 Jon Fisher, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Tom Stephenson, 23 James Wilson. | |
| Saracens: 15 Alex Goode; 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle; 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Petrus Du Plessis; 4 George Kruis, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (capt); 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Jacques Burger, 8 Billy Vunipola. Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Ashton. | Saracens: 15 Alex Goode; 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle; 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Jamie George, 3 Petrus Du Plessis; 4 George Kruis, 5 Alistair Hargreaves (capt); 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Jacques Burger, 8 Billy Vunipola. Replacements: 16 Schalk Brits, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Ashton. |
| Referee: Greg Garner. Assistant referees: Luke Pearce and Matthew Carley. TMO: Sean Davey. | Referee: Greg Garner. Assistant referees: Luke Pearce and Matthew Carley. TMO: Sean Davey. |
| Kick-off: 2pm BST. | Kick-off: 2pm BST. |
| Updated at 1.55pm BST |