Saints wait to discover opponents

Northampton were today waiting to discover whether Gloucester will be confirmed as their opponents in the Powergen Cup final at Twickenham on April 5.

Saints stormed into English rugby’s knockout showpiece by crushing holders London Irish 38-9 and avenging last season’s 38-7 Twickenham humiliation against the same opponents.

Zurich Premiership leaders Gloucester though, are at the centre of a potential dispute about front-row replacements that overshadowed a 16-11 semi-final success against European champions Leicester at Franklin’s Gardens.

Competition regulations, as compiled by the Rugby Football Union, suggest that Gloucester are in trouble. Technically, they could even be forced to forfeit the tie, or told to replay it.

“We are awaiting the referee’s report. No decision will be made until after that,” said an RFU spokesman.

Referee Steve Lander had no option but to rule two late uncontested scrums - with Leicester attacking ominously – on safety grounds.

Gloucester’s front-row replacements consisted of prop Trevor Woodman and hooker Chris Fortey, but either hooker Olivier Azam, a member of Gloucester’s starting line-up, or Fortey, were deemed unable to prop the scrum.

Loosehead prop Rodrigo Roncero went off at half-time, to be substituted – not replaced – by Woodman, then tighthead Andy Deacon departed nursing a knee injury.

Roncero returned to the fray instead of Deacon, but he subsequently suffered an ankle injury, sending hooker Fortey into the action.

The rules on replacements, as quoted by the RFU regulations and competitions handbook for 2002/03, read as follows:

“12.1: Replacements and substitutions are permitted in all matches in the competitions in accordance with Law 3 and the International Board resolutions and current RFU Resolutions relating thereto.

“12.2: In the interest of safety, every team in the competitions shall have available five player(s) in its match playing squad, either as players on the pitch or as replacements capable of playing in the front-row of the scrum should a replacement be required whether due to injury, or consequent upon a player being ordered off (or temporarily suspended).

“12.3: If, on the first or second occasion, a front-row player requires to be replaced and his team cannot provide a replacement, or other player capable of playing in the front row of the scrum, the referee, having confirmed this fact with the captain of the team, will order uncontested scrums and the team shall be deemed to have lost the match.”

Rule 12.3 would seem to give Leicester huge grounds for complaint, but the Tigers are currently sitting tight. Leicester rugby director Dean Richards described the uncontested scrums as “a strange thing to happen”.

Post-match developments distracted from Gloucester’s impressive win – it ended a 13-year wait to reach an English cup final, and was secured through second-half tries from wing Marcel Garvey and full-back Thinus Delport.

The victory keeps Gloucester on course for a potential league and cup double, but Leicester, despite their dominance of Premiership and Heineken Cup rugby, still have not been to Twickenham in a domestic final since 1997.

“We knew that we would have to work very hard, and our guys knew what was at stake. They knew they had to weather the storm late on,” said Gloucester coach Dean Ryan.

“Teams often go into themselves when they play Leicester, and we had talked all week about just being ourselves out there.”

Saints, who are through to their third final in four seasons, but have yet to lift the trophy, destroyed Irish as Budge Pountney, Steve Williams, Peter Jorgensen, Darren Fox and Mark Connors all claimed touchdowns.

But England scrum-half Matt Dawson, making his first appearance in three weeks after being laid low by a calf injury, was the victory architect.

Time after time, he rampaged into Irish territory, and would have scored a spectacular solo try had it not been for Exiles wing Paul Sackey’s brilliant cover tackle.

“Matt broke them open early on, and set a pattern for us,” said Saints coach Wayne Smith, following the Kassam Stadium clash.