Cumon Sts!!!

Smash these Frogs!!!

Sts score in under 2 minutes!!!

Right under the sticks!

Great start boys

7-0

Frantic start as the Bored Oaks now threaten the Sts line.

Northampton lost a forward in the build up to the try and it's looks like George Furbank is going off an after a knee to the head.

...and Pen Ou dots down in the corner after a close lineout from the Bored Oaks.

Bored Oaks go in again but was there a forward pass...

It looked forward to me...

They're going upstairs...

Yes, it was forward.

Saints need to get back in this!

Lovely from Saints putting together some decent phases in the middle of the park and then opting for a grubber into the corner...

Bired Oaks clearly their lines but Saints have it against and are pressing...

TNO Jonker asleep as the Frogs hit Saints high and he lets it go.

Bored Oaks score again, and covert.

But Saints get three back with a penalty.

10-12

Saints staying in the game but Bored Oaks look like they're in the verge of running away with it.

Bored Oaks look like eating a yellow for yet another dangerous tackle.

Finally they get pulled up for their foul play.

They made other high hits and partaking in a good few croc rolls so far.

Lots of pressure on the Frogs now while they're a man down.

Saints need to get something from this...

Frogs might eat another yellow for an intentional knock now...or is the ref gonna ignore it. He ignores it and wants to give only a penalty.

HOWBIS THAT NOT YELLOW...he literally slaps it down!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate referees.

Of course he gives the Yellow to Saints for a tackle in the air even though the play landed safely.

Peanuad get another.

Unlucky for Saints that they're playing against 17 men today.

13-20

And Saints get a try back in the final play of the half.

Great move there from a lineout just outside Bored Oaks 22

Conversion is Good!

20-20 at half time

Saints with a Pollock try disallowed early in the second half and now the Bored Oaks maul over but lose control.

Only a penalty to Bored soaks so far I. The second half.

Libeout in on the Saints 5m, Bored Oaks maul but Saints steal it!

Saints clear their lines

10 minutes into the second half and Saints are handing on, only 3 points behind...

20-23 to the Bored Oaks

Lovely from Saints.

They absorb the French pressure and then then play their way all the way into the French 22.

Bored Oaks clear their lines and Saints have a lineout just inside their 10m

Stupid French get over for a score

There was a big forward pass in that passage of play but this ref and TMO don't seem to care or know what they're doing

Everything going Bored Oaks way at the moment.

The ref is all over Saints. He doesn't miss and single thing they do but seem totally blind to the Frenchy's infringements.

Lineout after lineout on the Saints 5m...

But they absorb all the pressure and end up coming away with it.

Great fight from the the English boys

And now Saints win a scrum penalty right o their try line.

The Bored Oaks willl be suffering an huge adrenaline dump now.

Saints with another scum in their 10m line now...

They need another penalty here...

They run it and make 30m but then a poor pass sees them knock on.

Bored Oaks with a scum on their own 22

This ref doesn't actually know the laws!!!

Saints guy gets taken out in the air due to a high pass...this bloody moron ref doesn't wanna give a penalty and says..

"You jumped for your own pass"

HE ACTUALLY DOESNT KNOW THE RULES

Why is he reffing a final when he doesn't know basics rules...WHY?

10 minutes to go and Saints trail by 8

20-28

Saints win a scrum penalty Justine their own 22

they kick to their own 10 but then fluff the lineout

The game is beyond Saints at this point.

7 minutes go and they've barely been near the Frog's line.

they need a bit of a miracle really.

Saints get a penalty and kick to halfway for a lineout

They make nothing off it.

4 minutes to go and Bored soaks a have scrum on their own 10m

Game over.

Unlucky, Saints.

A decent ref and this could have been much differentz

Darn, I missed this...sounds like it wasn't hallve bad a match.

Oh Plum, it was a real shame we just missed out on that.

You’re right, though, we were playing the Ref etc too :(

Again no consistency in the cards. Bordeaux 6 pretty much exactly the same type of contact as Willemse. Only a yellow while Willemse gets a red and three weeks.

At 34:25 Saints player is called in front of the kick, he clearly was not (ball has already left the boot in the screenshot). Try lost.

Then a head on head clash at 42:46, "no high degree of danger". Yellow. Absurd.

The reffing was yet another horror story.

How the hell does a guy get tackled taking a pass in the air and the ref says "It was your own pass!" and then not award a penalty.

There isn't a person on this site that doesn't know that if you're jumping to catch a ball...from a pass or a kick, then you are not allowed to be tackled until your feet touch the ground???

The TMO had to intervene. The ref saw what happened but just didn't know the laws. How is that possible?

Jonker was just as bad in the TMO box though. He missed a ton of stuff including forward passes that ended up in tries.

I just don't get it. They didn't even have a second look at the one pass and it was clearly forward.

After an early high shot that was also visible for all to see, the commentators actually asked what game Jonker was watching.

I hate when the ref is the main subject after an important game, especially a FINAL!!!

I’m just sad the Ref ruined it for us, really :(

How the hell does a guy get tackled taking a pass in the air and the ref says "It was your own pass!" and then not award a penalty.

Didn't see that incident on the highlights, but he gave a yellow for what sounds like the same type of tackle on Penaud so it would be bizarre if he let a similar one slip.

He missed a ton of stuff including forward passes that ended up in tries.

20:19 forward pass from scumhalf to 12 who knocks it backward and it leads to a try. The backwards knock is probably a correct call although a bit of a novelty too, 19/20 times in the game that will be called a knock on. But the pass before is clearly forward out of the hands.

All this tech, error rate of the officials still sky high. We might as well do away with the pointless time wasting it involves.

I don't mind the tech or time for reviews, but I swear it's impossible to get decisions so consistently wrong against one side.

One tries not to be cynical but you do sometimes get the feeling that a particular side is "supposed to" win.

Yeah, that’s the conclusion we came to, Plum.

I think UBB slightly had the edge over us, but we really didn’t have the rub of the green.

bn

Booooo, Blob ! That’ll give me PTSD !

Always look at the bright side of life, do dah dee duh dum

Mebbe next year.

Maybe……:(

The call above that Pakie pointed out, the ref called it immediately.

How was he so sure?

How does Jonker miss so much when he has all the angles and plenty of time?

I just think it's fishy.

To me, it's like WR goes "The French put a lot of money in rugby. They were deeply disappointed by their WC performance. Let's give them something and make sure they win this game."

I swear, that's how it feels.

The call above that Pakie pointed out, the ref called it immediately.

That was a huge call to make without consultation as it was going to be a Saints try. No way you can call that with certainty in real time. I've seen with many of these kick chases, including kickoffs, you have to check carefully. At full speed it looks way in front almost every time when it's close, especially if the chaser has some momentum. Suddenly he's 2 meters in front of the defense falling back and you think watching it "man, he had to have been offside to end up there so quickly". Only when you check, he wasn't. He just hit the chase with momentum.

Better Luck Next year Becs.

It,s always a 50/50 with officials and there decisions…..they exert to much influence on the outcome of a game, especially when it’s close.

Best policy should be is to have a healthy point’s lead, this will nullify the refs control…..

Anycase Bordeaux used there chances a bit better. Saints didn’t look completely focussed at times and defensively they made errors that let to tries…