Last-gasp Clarke lifts Saints

Jon Clarke ran in a dramatic late try to earn Northampton what could prove a crucial bonus point, as the Saints recorded an emphatic 34-0 Heineken Cup victory over French champions Perpignan.

The win moves the Saints to 18 points in Pool One, just two behind leaders Munster who they play at Thomond Park next Friday.

However, the bonus point means that Northampton now have a realistic chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals even if they were to be defeated in Ireland.

It looked unlikely they would get it at half-time when they led an under-strength Perpignan side just 6-0.

But it was a different story after the break as recent England recruit Chris Ashton, Phil Dowson, Lee Dickson and then, sensationally, Clarke all touched down to complete a memorable afternoon at Franklin's Gardens.

Despite being already out of the competition, the French outfit put up a solid showing in the first half and kept their opponents at arm's length for long periods.

They certainly enjoyed the better start and were only put on the back foot when fly-half Steve Meyer was sin-binned on 16 minutes for taking out Dickson early following a quick tap by the Saints scrum-half.

Soon after Northampton earned themselves a penalty in kickable range after a high-tackle and, while Shane Geraghty missed that opportunity, he made amends with another chance on 26 minutes to edge his side ahead.

The Saints were then indebted to their fly-half at the other end as Perpignan winger Adrien Plante came within a whisker of the opening try.

After the ball had broken loose in the visitors' half, Plante hacked forward, outpaced the covering Saints defence and looked set to drop on the ball for an opportunist score, only for Geraghty to race back and knock the ball dead with a last-ditch soccer-style sliding tackle.

The same player then added his second successful penalty four minutes before the break to extend the lead to 6-0, but there was a palpable sense of frustration from both the home fans and players at the interval.

Shackles broken

But the shackles were broken three minutes after the restart with the fleet-footed Foden very much to the fore.

The full-back collected a long, aimless kick deep in his half and opted to run the ball back, showing great pace and balance to weave past a couple of would-be tacklers before releasing Ashton for a simple run to the line. Geraghty added the conversion with a casual drop-goal from in front of posts.

That proved the catalyst for a much more dynamic home performance and try two arrived on 54 minutes with Foden and Ashton again instrumental.

Having secured a turnover, the Saints quickly spun the ball from left to right through their three-quarters before Foden hit the line to inject some real pace.

The full-back drew several players before releasing Ashton who unselfishly offloaded to Dowson, allowing the flanker an unopposed run to the line - Geraghty again adding the extras with the minimum of fuss.

With the bit between their teeth and opponents on the rack, Northampton notched their third try just after the hour mark - although there was more than a hint of controversy about it.

Flanker Neil Best broke from a five-metre scrum and offloaded to scrum-half Dickson, who burrowed for the line and was awarded the score by referee Alain Rolland without consultation with the video ref. Replays showed it was just as well for Northampton that he hadn't with Dickson appearing to come up short.

Geraghty maintained his fine form with the boot as he calmly booted the conversion.

At that point the all-important fourth score seemed a formality, but a raft of substitutions by coach Jim Mallinder saw the hosts rather lose momentum.

Indeed, they looked to have blown their chance as Perpignan spent the closing stages camped near the Northampton line.

But with the clock having ticked into injury time, the Saints forced a turnover and then launched a counter that involved Bruce Reihana and Foden amongst others before centre Clarke surged down the touchline to apply the finish, sparking wild celebrations from the home crowd.

Replacement Stephen Myler added an extra gloss to the scoreline with a superb conversion from out wide and Mallinder was left to celebrate what could yet prove a vital extra point.