Leicester and George Ford punish wasteful Northampton to take final spot

George Ford produced a virtuoso performance on his final Leicester appearance at Welford Road to steer the Tigers past a dogged Northampton side and into a first Premiership final for nine years. Ford finished with 22 points, a full house after a late drop goal and arguably the most crucial try across his two spells at Leicester to reverse his side’s fortunes in a match that threatened to slip away from them.

The upshot is that Steve Borthwick takes Leicester to Twickenham to face his old club Saracens next Saturday after a day that demonstrated that power and physicality remain the greatest assets in the Premiership. A fly-half of Ford’s ability and experience helps too and while Owen Farrell’s duel with Marcus Smith understandably commanded interest earlier in the day, here was Leicester’s No 10 serving up a reminder that there are few better in the land.

All credit to Northampton, who contributed so much to this fiery East Midlands derby. They showed considerable character amid questions as to whether they had the substance to back up their style but ultimately they were made to pay for a failure to take the precious chances that came their way. Leicester meanwhile, fought back with their forward might after a considerable scare from their rivals.

Early on, Leicester were not helped by losing Dan Kelly to injury inside the first two minutes – and the backline reshuffle it prompted – but Northampton started by far the brighter. They boast some breathtaking attacking talents but they had bristled at the cavaliers versus roundheads narrative in the buildup and began in a manner determined to demonstrate they could live with Leicester up front; get the better of them even.

When Lewis Ludlam was not engaged in afters with