Review and Ratings: A moment in time for Northampton Saints

After last night's streaming of the Classic Match where Northampton Saints' secured their place in the 2014 Premiership Final with a late Tom Wood try securing a dramatic win over Leicester Tigers, Tom Vickers puts together his review and player ratings from the historic clash. 

This was a moment in time. A moment when you looked around and all you saw was elation.

A moment Saints fans had waited almost four years for. A moment when every one of them didn’t care whether they saw another rugby game again, because they had seen this one.

This was a moment when ten games’ worth of hurt washed away. A moment when all that was said in the build-up to this fractious East Midlands derby, and all the other East Midlands derbies, mattered not.

This was a moment to tell the grandchildren about. It was an eternal moment. This moment mattered because there were no moments like this since September 2010.

There have been other moments. There has been Dublin. There has been Belfast. There was Allianz Park. But those moments were nothing compared to this.

What was this moment? This moment was Stephen Myler kicking the ball out to end the match. To set up another chance of glory in two weeks’ time.

Twickenham beckons for a second season in succession. Did Saints really just beat a Leicester side whose defence was immense for so long? They did.

This time, the man charging in was Tom Wood. All that was lacking was the white horse. And is there a more deserving Saints hero? There is not.

But he wasn’t the only one who merited this. Every single person in Black, Green and Gold warranted what happened at the denouement of this game.

The Saints fans definitely deserved this. The noise levels were deafening towards the end. The South Stand sucked two tries in.

This atmosphere was like nothing heard before in this part of Northampton. The Gardens was rocking. And why?

Because this moment meant so much. And that moment was what everyone of a Saints persuasion had dreamed of during the entirety of their working week.

They would have paid double, treble, quadruple the ticket price to see this moment. Now they want to see a moment even more special than this one. They want to see a moment that involves a big trophy lifted in the air.

At Cardiff on Friday night, they want to see that moment. But the moment that would mean most could come at Twickenham eight days later.

And that moment is still in sight thanks to an unforgettable Friday night at Franklin’s Gardens.

How they rated...

BEN FODEN
Full of cut and thrust, the full-back drove his team forward with some energetic bursts that had Leicester backpedalling... 8

TOM COLLINS
Came in at the last minute for Ken Pisi and was lively throughout. One chip and catch was so close to providing a magical try... 7

GEORGE PISI
Was keen to get off the line in defence and did his best to push Saints forward in attack before being replaced by James Wilson... 7

LUTHER BURRELL
Set up Wood’s try with a clever run and pass and was always looking for a way through the Tigers backline... 7

GEORGE NORTH
Saints brought him in for games of this magnitude and he didn’t disappoint with a barnstorming display that was capped with a try... 8

STEPHEN MYLER
The fly-half was missed in the March meeting between the sides and you could see why with another typically assured performance here... 8

KAHN FOTUALI’I
Played at a tempo many found it difficult to live with. Was slightly rash with his decision-making at times, but that came from how desperate he was to get Saints moving... 7

ALEX WALLER
This meant a lot to the prop, who has been superb this season and who had another good night here... 7

MIKE HAYWOOD
The young hooker continues to impress and some good ball juggling kept the Saints move alive towards the end, leading to Wood’s try... 8

SALESI MA’AFU
Will know he let his team-mates down with the punches he landed on Tom Youngs and will now hope to avoid a ban... 5

SAMU MANOA
Not as prominent as in some other big games this season, but still put himself about and provided plenty of power and go-forward... 7

COURTNEY LAWES
The big lock was desperate to get his team to the final and excelled in open play and in the lineout... 8

PHIL DOWSON
Disappointed to be taken off early in the second half, but put a good shift in to that point and is a good influence... 7

TOM WOOD – STAR MAN
A truly gargantuan performance from the flanker, who grew with every minute, culminating in the biggest of tries... 9

SAM DICKINSON
A huge display from the No.8. Made hit after hit, including a couple of bone crunchers on Tigers behemoth Logovi’i Mulipola, and was also key going forward... 8

Replacements (who played more than 20 minutes)

ALEX CORBISIERO (for Waller 51)
A huge player to be able to bring off the bench and he certainly had an impact with some big carries and presence in the scrum... 7

TOM MERCEY (for Collins 55)
Brought on to fill the gap left by Ma’afu and he didn’t let the team down, with a physical performance, especially at the breakdown... 7

CALUM CLARK (for Dowson 55)
Brought so much energy and desire to proceedings, pushing Leicester at the breakdown and helping to steer Saints to a sensational win... 7