At the Ricoh Arena today the second semi-final of the Heineken cup took place between London Wasps and Northampton Saints. 
Beforehand the match was predicted to be a sell-out but in fact there were many Sky Blue seats to be seen especially in Scoreboard corner. The Saints following was in the majority and made this very much a home match; with some tremendous support before the match, and especially so after 3 minutes when the Saints fullback Reihana had not only crossed the Wasps line for a try in the corner under the scoreboard, but had also slotted home the conversion to open up an early 7-0 lead.
Further good pressure from the Saints was rewarded with penalty goal kicks in the 11th and 15th minutes opening up a 13-0 lead for the Saints and a belief amongst their support that this just might be their day.
In between the try and the first penalty kick there was a minor scuffle between England international Dallaglio and former All Black Spencer ended with both being warned to get on with the game by the Irish referee.
This first 15 minutes served to put more purpose into the Wasps play and in the 22nd minute the Saints try line was breached and the ball put down for a hoped for try, though the Wasps Cipriani did look to be perilously close to the touch line. For the first time in the afternoon the referee called upon the video referee who ruled that the try was not valid with the ball clipping the touchline.
The Wasps pressure increased and a penalty from within a scrum on the 28th minute gave the Wasps a route back into the match, pulling back 3 points. Four minutes later a further 5 points were pulled back following a Wasps try in the same corner by the Tescos and Telegraph stands. The referee again checked with the video referee but this time the try was good.
The Wasps pressure continued to be slowly cranked up with some excellent pace and power play managing to keep the ball alive, which in turn was making the Saints defence work very hard indeed. A good attack by the Saints just before half-time put them deep into the Wasps half but an interception by Wasps should have resulted in a try but for a knock on in the Saints half to bring the threat to a halt.
Spencer ensured that the Saints returned to the dressing room at half time holding a 13-8 lead by kicking the ball into touch.
With many in the crowd replenishing their pint glasses during the half time break they and their beer returned into the Arena bowl to welcome back the teams for the second half, with the Saints now attacking the Telegraph stand where Saints support was housed. 
However almost straight away Wasps continued with their pressure, asking yet more questions of the Saints defence. Following a penalty for a Saints infringement, and a further 10 yards given for some dissent shown to the referee, Wasps attacked and were awarded a penalty just to the right of the posts. At this point the Saints went down to 10 men with Lewis being sin binned for 10 minutes for his part in the infringement. The resulting penalty kick now made the score line 13-11 to the Saints, and Wasps scented the tide had turned in their favour.
The Saints realised that this was the case too and put in a good period of pressure keeping close control of the ball, and probing the Wasps pack and defensive line, but the play was very much slower than the Wasps crisp attack and ball handling.
Yet another penalty against the Saints brought this period of control to a halt and the pressure was immediately back on with the Wasps now on the Saints 22, with their pack showing how it should be done with some controlled play that advanced to the Saints try line.
The ball was grounded and for the second time in the match the video referee confirmed the try as good. With the conversion missed the score stood at 16-13 to Wasps, and there was a feeling that the Saints had to find something special to break down the Wasps defence that seemed to be increasing in confidence by the minute.
Going behind lifted the Saints play, and with Lewitt back on the pitch following his sin bin time, a gutsy attack ensued with pressure on the Wasps 22. A Saints scrum in front of the posts offered the ideal opportunity for a possible drop goal but the ball just wouldn't emerge in the right way.
The pressure continued with very vocal backing from the Saints support but sadly the Wasps defence held firm, despite four minutes of concerted pressure, waiting for the inevitable breakdown in the play.
When this came from another penalty the play immediately swung into the Saints half where some slick and fast handling and movement brought yet another Wasps try in front of the their support in the Jewson stand. This and the conversion made it 23-13 to Wasps and the hopes of the Saints seemed to fade, although the backing from the stands certainly didn't stop.
The work rate of the Saints defence had been immense throughout the match and it seemed that tiredness was starting to take a hold. The Wasps attack continued with their momentum and cranked up the pressure still further, with their pace and handling carving out their 4th and final try in the scoreboard corner. The conversion that followed was successful, albeit by going over with the help of the right hand post and that was match over.
With both teams saluting their supporters after the final whistle, many then retired to the concourse for a further beer, or to the Jaguar hall where Heineken village was housed with live band entertainment, remaining open until 9pm for those that wished to stagger their return journey home. 