Drahm fuels survival dream

Northampton 26 - Leicester 11

Northampton enjoyed the best afternoon of their troubled season with a committed performance to end Leicester's 15-match unbeaten run, which they had enjoyed since the opening day of the campaign, when they lost at Sale.

Northampton enjoyed the best afternoon of their troubled season with a committed performance to end Leicester's 15-match unbeaten run, which they had enjoyed since the opening day of the campaign, when they lost at Sale.

Leicester can point to the absence of eight first-choice players on international duty, but they have managed without most of them before. Not yesterday. They were well and truly rumbled by a Saints side fighting for their Premiership survival.

As John Wells, Leicester's head coach, acknowledged: "Northampton played with a passion and an urgency which we couldn't match. We took the plaudits after our big win last week. This week we have to take the flak."

Leicester were 12 points clear at the top of the table, and Saints adrift at the bottom, three points below Harle-quins, before the kick-off. Although Quins managed a win away to Bath yesterday, if Saints continue to play like this, the Londoners will not relish their visit to Franklin's Gardens next month.

Not that the Saints' head coach, Budge Pountney, is getting carried away, although he was obviously pleased afterwards. "We have found a bit of self-belief," he said. "We stuck to our gameplan, and to beat Leicester is always something special."

Northampton made an explosive start. Having seen a line-out drive repulsed by Martin Johnson's men, they then splintered the Tigers scrum, Johnny Howard set off for the posts and Shane Drahm, with a lovely dummy, scored the opening try.

Saints maintained the momentum when Neil Back transgressed and Drahm kicked the penalty. Although Sam Vesty gave Leicester the encouragement of a penalty, Saints went further ahead. Bruce Reihana took Drahm's long pass, shimmied, and put John Rudd in for a terrific try. Drahm converted and slotted another penalty.

That was the signal for some Leicester bully-boy tactics which led to Martin Johnson and Simon Emms being sent to the sin-bin. Then, in stoppage time, signs of Saints' porous defence re-emerged and Leon Lloyd touched down. Vesty missed the conversion, but banged over a penalty to make it 21-11 at the interval.

Leicester picked up the pace in the third quarter, but Ben Cohen made it safe for Saints by grabbing the only score of the second half with a try in the right corner.

Northampton: B Reihana; J Rudd, N Starling (W Human, 54), M Stcherina, B Cohen; S Drahm, J Howard; S Emms, D Richmond, R Morris (B Sturgess, 78), M Lord (C Budgen, 79), D Browne (G Seely, 53), D Fox (B Sturgess 29-39), C Krige (capt), A Blowers (M Soden, 75).

Leicester: S Rabeni (A Tuilagi, 67); A Healey, L Lloyd, D Gibson, J Holtby (D Hipkiss, 75); S Vesty, S Bemand; M Holford, G Chuter (J Buckland, 67), D Morris (J Rawson, 75), M Johnson (capt), J Hamilton, W Johnson (B Deacon, 50), N Back, H Tuilagi.

Referee: A Rowden (Berks).