- Northampton Saints 22-19 Toulon: Late Tom Lockett try seals victory.
Tom Lockett’s late try sealed a dramatic Investec Champions Cup bonus-point win for Northampton over Toulon.
Two yellow cards for the French side saw them go down to 13 players with less than five minutes left and holding a four-point lead.
And after 12 attacking phases, Lockett went over to the delight of the Franklins Gardens crowd.
Victory made it two from two for Saints in Pool 3 after they overcame Glasgow Warriors last Friday.
Saints controlled the first half with tries from Tom Seabrook and captain George Furbank putting them 10-3 up at the break.
But injuries to three of their backs – Seabrook, George Hendy and his replacement Ollie Sleightholme – and improved physicality from Toulon saw the French side haul themselves back into the match.
Despite another Furbank try, scores from Melvyn Jaminet and David Ribbans – who left Saints to join Toulon at the end of last season – saw Toulon take the lead in the closing stages.
But they were left short when they had Matteo le Corvec and Jeremy Sinzelle sent to the sin-bin and Lockett’s 77th-minute effort gave Saints the edge in thrilling fashion.
In the other Champions Cup match played on Friday, Glasgow pipped Bayonne 12-11.
Lawes makes big difference
Courtney Lawes, who hung up his England boots after their Rugby World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa, was leading from the front in his player of the match performance – putting in huge hits and try-saving tackles.
The 34-year-old lock marshalled the defence, helping to deny Toulon a try until the 54th minute when Jaminet leaped to the line. The conversion was missed by Enzo Herve and so Toulon trailed by two points.
Lawes was central to Saints’ next score. He offloaded to Tommy Freeman, who found Furbank and the skipper held off two defenders to get over the line.
The game’s momentum then shifted in favour of the visitors with a Herve penalty and Ribbans try putting the visitors ahead for the first time in the 65th minute.
A well-struck drop-goal from Jaminet extended Toulon’s lead to 19-15, but their indiscipline denied them success.
Saints, who top the pool with nine points, host Bayonne at Franklins Gardens on 12 January, while bottom-of-the-table Toulon welcome Munster on 13 January.
‘We showed a lot of heart’ – what they said
Northampton’s Courtney Lawes told TNT Sports: “That was a helluva shift from the boys. A great game, very back and forth. Toulon played great so props to them. we showed a lot of heart at the end there to come back and grasp it.
“The plan was the same as always, just stick to our guns. We have a great attacking game and our defence is improving every week. The defence again was the backbone of the performance today.”
Line-ups
Northampton: Furbank (capt); Seabrook, Freeman, Litchfield, Hendy; Smith, Mitchell; Waller, Langdon, Davison, Mayanavanua, Moon, Lawes, Pearson, Graham.
Replacements: Matavesi, Haffar, Hill, Lockett, Augustus, James, Savala, Sleightholme.
Toulon: Jaminet; Fainga’anuku, Tuicuvu, Sinzelle, Villiere; Herve, White; Priso, Singleton, Brookes, Halagahu, Ribbans, Abadie, Ollivon, Tolofua.
Replacements: Tolofua, Gros, Setiano, Warion, Le Corvec, Danglot, Smaili, Wainiqolo.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
