Heineken Cup: Northampton Saints eliminated following last-gasp defeat
Northampton Saints saw their Heineken Cup qualification hopes extinguished following a 27-20 defeat to Glasgow.
Last Updated: 19/01/13 5:40pm
The Saints required a bonus-point victory to keep their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals alive, however it was the Scottish outfit who prevailed thanks to Peter Horne's last-minute try.
In a game that marked Soane Tonga'uiha's 200th appearance for the visitors, Gregor Townsend's players achieved the Warriors' first win in this season's tournament against their head coach's former club after Horne ran half the length of the pitch before touching down.
Ruaridh Jackson and Stephen Myler exchanged early penalties but Northampton made the first significant move on the half hour when Dom Waldouck opened up the Glasgow defence and scored under the posts, with Myler converting with ease.
Trailing 10-6 at the break, Glasgow started the second half rejuvenated, taking the lead after 46 minutes through a try from Josh Strauss.
The South African flanker's raw power saw him overcome three opponents to reach the Northampton try-line, much as he did in the reverse fixture between the two teams at Franklin's Gardens in October, and give Glasgow a 13-10 lead.
The lead was to last until the hour mark as the quick feet of Samoan George Pisi, Northampton's top try-scorer this season, side-stepped tackles to find his way to the right corner of Glasgow's try-line.
Glasgow's Matawalu stole the lead yet again from Northampton however. The Fijian pinched possession and then ran the 30 yards required to score under the posts, leaving Wight with an easy conversion with 13 minutes left to play.
A late try from Northampton winger Ben Foden brought the scores level at 20-20, despite pleas of obstruction from the crowd.
It would be Glasgow that had the final say though thanks to an outstanding solo effort from Horne, who powered through to score arguably the best try of his career before booting the conversion himself.
