Rugby is a game I'm at best ambivalent about, but as Northampton Saints had reached the final of the game's most prestigious competition I just had to watch it.
Saints v Leinster has to rate of one of the most exciting games involving a ball (I'll even forgive the fact that the ovoid thing is not actually a "ball" this time!) I have ever seen. Leinster went into the game as strong favourites, but were completely overran by the Saints' scrum and break play in the first half and at the interval the score was 22-6 to us! Blimey, I'm even calling Saints "us" now. "We" even managed to score a try while a man down in the sin bin. Star of the show in the scrum was a man mountain called Tonga'uiha, who gave the appearance of being held together by Elastoplast, and obviously carrying an injury he could barely move by half time. Ben Foden was all over the place, a sort of Rugby prime period Paul Scholes for all you fellow rugger ignorami.
By half time I had started to come over all unnecessary, boy this was exciting stuff. I mentioned to Phill that there was no way Leinster could be as weak in the second period, and that the half time score reminded me of the L****poo* v AC Milan 2005 Champions League final, Saints being AC Milan. Unfortunately I was right, and in spades. Having been recently thumped, both literally and metaphorically by Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership play off semi final (Tigers won the League Where You Get Nowt For Winning, so fair do's, but what is that all about exactly?) it was predicted by the pundits on the telly that Saints would wilt at some point in the second half allowing Leinster a way back in. Wilt? They didn't even turn up and the Irish team steamrollered. mullered, overwhelmed, etc etc us for half an hour scoring 27 points in the process. Apart from a brief glimmer of hope near the end, Saints barely got out of their own half and played like a team in shock.
Still, what a game, and congrats to both teams for contributing to a thrilling early evening's entertainment.
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