Northampton Saints and Saracens will contest the Aviva Premiership Final on May 31st following wins over Leicester Tigers and Harlequins respectively. If you missed the games, here are quick official highlight wraps from both semi finals.
Both games included a fair bit of controversy, with Salesi Ma’afu being red carded for punching Tom Youngs, while Saracens winger Chris Ashton has been spoken to by the RFU regarding an incident in the first half. He allegedly shouted ‘push it’ as Nick Evans was taking a conversion.
Saints beat Tigers 21-20 in a hard-fought game at Franklin’s Gardens. Coach Jim Mallinder has since spoken of the team’s need to not dwell on the win, but follow up with a significant triumph.
“To go down to 14 men and still come out of it was testament to the massive character of the side,” he said. “A significant moment will be when we win a big competition. We’ve been in a Heineken Cup final, we were in the Premiership final last season. It will be significant when we win a big one.”
Ma’afu will face a disciplinary hearing for the red card he received after decking Youngs, while Tigers flyhalf Owen Williams has been charged with “acts contrary to good sportsmanship/making contact with the eye(s) or eye area of Luther Burrell”. Their hearings are on Tuesday evening.
Saracens meanwhile are eyeing a historic ‘double’ as they are in both the Premiership final and the Heineken Cup final. They beat Harlequins 31-17 on Saturday (highlights on page two).
“The squad is really confident at the moment and they front up every single week,” said coach Mark McCall, who’s team first needs to take on Toulon in Cardiff this coming Saturday (May 24th).
Saracens vs Harlequins Highlights (on page two)
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