'That effort today, from everyone here at Welford Road, was for the Youngs'
George Ford dedicated Leicester’s gripping Gallagher Premiership play-off victory over Northampton to the Youngs family after Tigers ended a nine-year Twickenham wait.
A minute’s applause took place before kick-off at Mattioli Woods Welford Road in memory of Tiffany Youngs, who died earlier this week.
Her husband Tom retired in April following a career that saw him captain the Tigers and make more than 200 first-team appearances, while Tom’s brother – England scrum-half Ben Youngs – started the 27-14 win.
Leicester, league table-toppers after the regular season, extended their unbeaten Premiership home record to more than a year and will face Saracens in next Saturday’s final, chasing a ninth title.
Ford scored 22 points from a try, conversion, drop-goal and four penalties, and he created a second-half touchdown for Freddie Steward on his final Leicester home appearance before joining Sale later this summer.
“Some things are bigger than rugby, and what the Youngs family have been through, nobody can ever imagine, to be honest,” Ford told BT Sport.
“That effort today, from everyone here at Welford Road, was for the Youngs family. What a family they are. Tom is up there with (daughter) Maisie. What a person he is. It’s the same with Ben. That, today, was for them.”
Saints replied through a Tommy Freeman touchdown, with Dan Biggar kicking two penalties and James Grayson one, but Wales international Biggar went off early in the second period after appearing to suffer a knock.
Northampton led 14-13 with 17 minutes left, yet it was ultimately Leicester’s day, setting up a pulsating final between England’s two top clubs.
Ford added: “Not too long ago we were at the bottom of the league, fighting relegation. It’s a credit to Steve (Leicester head coach Steve Borthwick), his coaching staff and everyone at the club. We’ve worked hard and got ourselves in a position to do something special next week.
“What a place, what a club, what a set of people. I’ve been here eight years in two stints and loved every second of it – the highs and the lows. You won’t find a more traditional rugby club. I will miss it greatly, but we’ve got a job to do next week.”
Leicester finished 11th in the Premiership two years ago, only avoiding relegation because Saracens were demoted following repeated salary cap breaches.
But they will now chase a first Premiership crown since defeating Northampton 37-17 in the 2013 final.
Borthwick said: “It wasn’t pretty from us, but the guys worked their way through it against a top side, who have been in really good form of late. George (Ford) has been excellent all season, I can’t praise him highly enough. You just see him play a game of 80 minutes, while I am able to see his influence on the squad throughout the week.”
There was no fairytale finish for Northampton rugby director Chris Boyd, who leaves his post this summer, although he will make occasional trips back to Franklin’s Gardens from New Zealand as a consultant.
Boyd said: “There is disappointment that we didn’t advance to Twickenham, and disappointment that we created probably four opportunities in the first 55 minutes. If we had converted two of them, we might have been able to force Tigers to go away from their game-plan.
“They haven’t had to chase a lot of games this season, and we wanted to build a lead. We created plenty, but we didn’t finish off. 27-14 is a little bit cruel, but credit to them – they were mostly relentless.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments