Leicester take advantage of Northampton profligacy to reach Premiership final - latest reaction

Leicester returned to the final of the Premiership for the first time since 2013, surviving a bruising encounter with rivals Northampton.

George Ford produced an outstanding individual performance on his second Welford Road farewell, scoring 22 points to capitalise on a profligate Saints showing.

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"Delighted for the players and especially excited for the spectators that we have earned another week. We've got an exciting week ahead of us.

"They have been absolutely phenomenal. It wasn't a pretty game, it was a tense game, a proper finals rugby game.

"George Ford is a tremendous player and a tremendous person. It was tough time on the pitch today and the players found a way to work through it."

A typically fair assessment of things from Lewis Ludlam, there - if Northampton convert their opportunities, they might well have been out of sight before Leicester's final quarter surge. The game was there for the taking. It mightn't have mattered, but you'd say that Oisin Heffernan was probably unfortunate to be shown yellow for his high tackle.  

Defeat means this is Chris Boyd's farewell to English rugby, with the Northampton DOR returning to his native New Zealand at the end of this season. A figure who has made a real difference at Franklin's Gardens - Phil Dowson and Sam Vesty are now tasked with building upon his fine work to enable Northampton to challenge again next year, though Boyd will continue to advise from afar. 

"It's a tough pill to swallow really. You can't put it into words. They were the better team today, unfortunately. I couldn't be prouder of the