Northampton Saints 31 Leeds Carnegie 24: Battling Leeds are left one try short of a great escape

Backs against the wall, defiant and with a surprising amount of composure going forward considering the stakes, Leeds came within a whisker of defeating the Heineken Cup finalists in their own backyard and completing the biggest comeback in Premiership history.

The only comeback was by Northampton, who rallied from an inconceivable 24-3 deficit after 18 blistering minutes from Leeds to claim the win they needed to book a place in the top four and condemn the Yorkshire club to bottom of the Aviva Premiership.

Leeds needed two points from the game to turn what in early March was an 11-point deficit to Newcastle into a favourable mark, but, in the end, they got only a losing bonus.

One more try would have given them a second point and unadulterated joy.

Instead, the ifs, buts and maybes begin.

If Cornish Pirates beat Worcester in the promotion play-off final, Leeds will be reprieved due to the Pirates not having adequate facilities for inclusion in the top tier.

But they should really have kept their fate in their own hands.

Maybe a few more performances like this one, and not the soulless efforts they put in latterly against Wasps and Harlequins and they would not be in this position.

“It’s all nearly, nearly stuff,” lamented Hendre Fourie, man of the match after a typically robust performance. “We’ve been nearly men all season and it just didn’t pay off. One more try would have done it. So near yet so far.”

The source of their demise is rooted in their woeful start to the campaign. Nine straight defeats is going to leave even the best of teams with a mountain to climb.

Leeds, with the lowest wage budget in the league, had the apparatus to only reach Base Camp.

That they managed to get a view of the summit owes much to their belief, character and pride.

At least they went down fighting at Franklin’s Gardens after it had looked like being a whimper after shattering defeats to the two London clubs.

The sense of desperation was heightened prior to kick-off by Steve Thompson’s absence, a decision that sent tongues wagging about the England hooker’s impending move to Wasps, but was due to a foot injury he has been carrying for a month. Neil Back’s future was also the whisper on the terraces, as was that of Scott Mathie, the scrum-half, who is understood to be bound for Sale.

Not the perfect preparation then, particularly at the home of the side that will carry English hopes in the European Cup final later this month.

But if there was any doubt about Leeds’s mentality, it was blown away in an opening 18-minute spell when it was they who performed like continental conquerors.

Nonchalant Northampton were slow out of the blocks, and Leeds tore at them.

Rhys Oakley was at the heart of everything. First, the back-row turned over the ball in midfield to set in motion a move that ended in Fourie crossing the line.

Next, he raced onto the shoulder of Mathie to follow up the scrum-half’s break and cross.

Then, after Phil Nilsen, standing in for Thompson, almost blew a glorious chance when his pass to Mike MacDonald was intercepted, Oakley came thundering in to turn the ball back over.

Forwards were on the front foot and Leeds in dreamland as Mathie and Henry Fa’afili created the space for Pete Wackett to score the third try.

Jarvis converted all three and traded a penalty with Shane Geragthy to put Leeds 24-3 up.

A fourth try then would have given Leeds the insurance policy of at least a try bonus if and when the Saints would mount their inevitable fightback, but it never came. In fairness, Leeds had been ruthless in the execution of their three chances. With the Northampton scrum in total command, the warning signs were ominious.

After Lee Blackett and Paul Diggin were sin-binned for fighting, Dowson scored in Blackett’s corner to get the home side moving.

The Saints were marching when Juan Gomez was sent to the sin-bin for scrum infringements and referee Andrew Small awarded a penalty try.

Jim Mallinder sent on England internationals Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes in the second half as the tide continued to turn, Foden feeding Chris Ashton to run in a try against the tiring defence, with three penalties from Stephen Myler completing the turnaround.

Leeds hardly ventured into opposition territory in the second half, but were presented with a chance to save themselves at the death, but in a move that summed up their season, they swung the attack left in search of the tryline, instead of right where they had men over.

“It’s harder to take than if we’d been on the back of a 50-pointer,” said fly-half Jarvis. “They got their foot in the door and kept hammering. If we’d managed to do that earlier in the season it would be a completely different story.”

Too true.

Northampton Saints: Foden, Ashton, Ansbro, Downey, Diggin (Reihana 57), Geraghty (Myler 51), Commins (Dickson 40); Waller (Tonga’uhia 61), Sharman (Hartley 45), Mujati (Sherman 65), Sorenson (Lawes 59), Day, Easter, Dowson (Clark 40), Wilson.

Leeds Carnegie: Stephenson, Blackett, Fa’afili, Barrow, Wackett (Odouza 58), Jarvis (Lewis-Pratt 71), Mathie (White 77); MacDonald (Hardy 58), Nilsen (Hannon 72), Gomez (Denman 76), Browne, Myall, Oakley (Denton 67), Fourie, To’oala (Paul 51).

Referee: A Small (RFU).