Pisi punishes Saracens

Three tries by Samoan centre George Pisi put Northampton into the Anglo-Welsh Cup final as Saracens fell 26-7.

The draw pitted the Premiership 1 and 2 against each other at Franklin's Gardens after the Saints had beaten the Londoners 20-16 in the pool stage. And while both teams fielded sides which were some way from their strongest, Saracens must still have harboured hopes, especially when they dominated the first half to lead 7-6, thanks to a try by fullback Ben Ransom.

But the Saints came out firing after the break, and aided by some fundamental errors, took control. Pisi scored his first in the 52nd minute when hitting the line at pace after Saints had opted for a lineout from penalty and scored his second when the openside defence was neglected by Saracens. He sealed the match with just four minutes remaining when he was on hand after a driving Saints maul fractured the defence.

Northampton will play either Bath or Exeter, who meet on Sunday at the Recreation Ground.

Northampton – Tries: George Pisi (3). Conversion: Stephen Myler. Penalties: Will Hooley (2). Drop goal: Myler.
Saracens – Try: Ben Ransom. Conversion: Ben Spencer.

Northampton – 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Tom Stephenson, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Will Hooley, 9  Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6  Ben Nutley, 5  Christian Day, 4 James Craig, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Mike Haywood, 1  Ethan Waller.
Subs:16 Ross McMillan,17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Alex Day, 22 Stephen Myler, 23  Fa'atoina Autagavaia.

Saracens – 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Michael Tagicakibau, 13 Tim Streather, 12 Marcelo Bosch, 11 Jack Wilson, 10 Nils Mordt, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Matt Hankin, 6  Justin Melck, 5  Mouritz Botha 4  Eoin Sheriff, 3  Petrus du Plessis  2 Jamie George, 1 Richard Barrington.
Subs: 16 Jared Saunders, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 James Johnston, 19 Hayden Smith, 20 Nick de Jager, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23  Chris Wyles.

Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images